Applied Optoelectronics (NASDAQ:AAOI) Shares Down 4.2% – Here’s What Happened

Applied Optoelectronics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AAOI)’s stock price was down 4.2% during trading on Monday . The stock traded as low as $34.68 and last traded at $34.91. Approximately 483,620 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 82% from the average daily volume of 2,729,015 shares. The stock had previously closed at $36.43.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have issued reports on AAOI. Rosenblatt Securities increased their price target on Applied Optoelectronics from $27.50 to $44.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. StockNews.com raised shares of Applied Optoelectronics to a “sell” rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. B. Riley cut Applied Optoelectronics from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and set a $14.00 price target on the stock. in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Raymond James upped their price objective on shares of Applied Optoelectronics from $17.00 to $23.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, November 8th. Finally, Northland Securities reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $40.00 price objective (up from $25.00) on shares of Applied Optoelectronics in a report on Wednesday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Applied Optoelectronics currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $26.00.

Applied Optoelectronics Price Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $1.45 billion, a P/E ratio of -15.59 and a beta of 2.37. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $26.76 and its 200 day simple moving average is $16.22. The company has a quick ratio of 1.06, a current ratio of 1.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36.

Insider Activity

In other Applied Optoelectronics news, CFO Stefan J. Murry sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $31.56, for a total value of $157,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 216,129 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,821,031.24. This represents a 2.26 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Min-Chu (Mike) Chen sold 9,790 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.00, for a total value of $391,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 165,054 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,602,160. This trade represents a 5.60 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 86,769 shares of company stock valued at $2,813,037. Insiders own 5.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Applied Optoelectronics

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Royce & Associates LP grew its position in Applied Optoelectronics by 47.7% during the 3rd quarter. Royce & Associates LP now owns 1,596,545 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $22,847,000 after acquiring an additional 515,489 shares during the last quarter. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP acquired a new stake in shares of Applied Optoelectronics in the third quarter valued at $19,019,000. Whale Rock Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Applied Optoelectronics during the 3rd quarter worth about $16,145,000. Shellback Capital LP bought a new position in shares of Applied Optoelectronics in the second quarter worth about $8,617,000. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Applied Optoelectronics by 7.1% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 909,559 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $13,018,000 after purchasing an additional 60,241 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 61.72% of the company’s stock.

About Applied Optoelectronics

Applied Optoelectronics, Inc designs, manufactures, and sells fiber-optic networking products in the United States, Taiwan, and China. It offers optical modules, optical filters, lasers, laser components, subassemblies, transmitters and transceivers, turn-key equipment, headend, node, distribution equipment, and amplifiers.