Applied Optoelectronics (NASDAQ:AAOI) Shares Down 2.7% – Here’s What Happened

Applied Optoelectronics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AAOI)’s stock price dropped 2.7% during trading on Monday . The stock traded as low as $36.40 and last traded at $36.89. Approximately 893,911 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 60% from the average daily volume of 2,225,600 shares. The stock had previously closed at $37.90.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AAOI has been the topic of several analyst reports. B. Riley downgraded shares of Applied Optoelectronics from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and set a $14.00 price target on the stock. in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Raymond James upped their price target on shares of Applied Optoelectronics from $17.00 to $39.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, December 20th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Applied Optoelectronics to a “sell” rating in a research note on Friday. Northland Securities restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $40.00 target price (up from $25.00) on shares of Applied Optoelectronics in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. Finally, Rosenblatt Securities upped their target price 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. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Applied Optoelectronics has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $29.20.

Applied Optoelectronics Stock Down 8.4 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 1.61 and a quick ratio of 1.06. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $31.79 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $18.68. The company has a market cap of $1.63 billion, a PE ratio of -16.86 and a beta of 2.39.

Insider Transactions at Applied Optoelectronics

In other news, Director Min-Chu (Mike) Chen sold 9,790 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.00, for a total transaction of $391,600.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 165,054 shares in the company, valued at $6,602,160. The trade was a 5.60 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Richard B. Black sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $35.27, for a total value of $352,700.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 167,813 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,918,764.51. This represents a 5.62 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 86,769 shares of company stock valued at $3,015,537 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 5.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Applied Optoelectronics

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of AAOI. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company increased its position in Applied Optoelectronics by 3.4% during the third quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 14,667 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $210,000 after purchasing an additional 483 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in Applied Optoelectronics by 2.9% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 108,814 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $1,557,000 after purchasing an additional 3,081 shares during the last quarter. Truvestments Capital LLC increased its position in Applied Optoelectronics by 24.3% during the third quarter. Truvestments Capital LLC now owns 15,862 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $227,000 after purchasing an additional 3,097 shares during the last quarter. Pingora Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Applied Optoelectronics during the third quarter worth about $82,000. Finally, FMR LLC increased its position in Applied Optoelectronics by 3,290.6% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 6,137 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $88,000 after purchasing an additional 5,956 shares during the last quarter. 61.72% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.