Insider Selling: Applied Optoelectronics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AAOI) Director Sells 10,000 Shares of Stock

Applied Optoelectronics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AAOI) Director Richard B. Black sold 10,000 shares of Applied Optoelectronics stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $35.27, for a total value of $352,700.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 167,813 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,918,764.51. This represents a 5.62 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website.

Applied Optoelectronics Stock Up 5.8 %

Shares of NASDAQ:AAOI opened at $33.97 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $1.53 billion, a PE ratio of -16.49 and a beta of 2.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a current ratio of 1.61. The company’s fifty day moving average is $27.12 and its 200-day moving average is $16.34. Applied Optoelectronics, Inc. has a 52 week low of $6.70 and a 52 week high of $44.50.

Institutional Trading of Applied Optoelectronics

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP acquired a new position in shares of Applied Optoelectronics in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $19,019,000. Whale Rock Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Applied Optoelectronics in the 3rd quarter valued at $16,145,000. Shellback Capital LP acquired a new position in Applied Optoelectronics in the second quarter worth $8,617,000. Royce & Associates LP grew its holdings in shares of Applied Optoelectronics by 47.7% during the third quarter. Royce & Associates LP now owns 1,596,545 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $22,847,000 after purchasing an additional 515,489 shares during the last quarter. Finally, JAT Capital Mgmt LP acquired a new stake in shares of Applied Optoelectronics in the third quarter valued at $6,470,000. 61.72% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AAOI has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Rosenblatt Securities raised their price objective on shares of Applied Optoelectronics from $27.50 to $44.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. 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 report on Friday, November 8th. B. Riley downgraded Applied Optoelectronics from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and set a $14.00 target price on the stock. in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. StockNews.com raised Applied Optoelectronics to a “sell” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. Finally, Northland Securities reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $40.00 target price (up from $25.00) on shares of Applied Optoelectronics in a research report on Wednesday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $26.00.

Applied Optoelectronics Company Profile

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.