Analysts Set Applied Optoelectronics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AAOI) Target Price at $22.00

Applied Optoelectronics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AAOI) has been given a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the five analysts that are covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and three have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price target among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $22.00.

A number of research firms have commented on AAOI. B. Riley raised shares of Applied Optoelectronics from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $13.00 price target for the company in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Raymond James dropped their price objective on shares of Applied Optoelectronics from $20.00 to $18.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 9th. Rosenblatt Securities upped their target price on shares of Applied Optoelectronics to $30.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 9th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut Applied Optoelectronics from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Thursday.

Applied Optoelectronics Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ AAOI opened at $17.88 on Wednesday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $15.04 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $24.77. Applied Optoelectronics has a twelve month low of $6.70 and a twelve month high of $44.50. The firm has a market capitalization of $992.59 million, a P/E ratio of -8.68 and a beta of 2.55. The company has a quick ratio of 1.06, a current ratio of 1.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36.

Applied Optoelectronics (NASDAQ:AAOI) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 8th. The semiconductor company reported ($0.02) EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.04) by $0.02. The company had revenue of $99.86 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $99.37 million. Applied Optoelectronics had a negative return on equity of 22.36% and a negative net margin of 38.61%. Applied Optoelectronics’s revenue was up 145.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned ($0.31) earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Applied Optoelectronics will post -1.18 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Applied Optoelectronics

In related news, insider David C. Kuo sold 11,426 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $19.10, for a total transaction of $218,236.60. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 153,900 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,939,490. This trade represents a 6.91% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Stefan J. Murry sold 2,000 shares of Applied Optoelectronics stock in a transaction on Monday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $23.06, for a total transaction of $46,120.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 196,581 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,533,157.86. The trade was a 1.01% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 39,263 shares of company stock worth $740,590 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 4.96% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Applied Optoelectronics

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Applied Optoelectronics by 11.0% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,429,418 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $89,548,000 after acquiring an additional 241,594 shares during the last quarter. Emerald Advisers LLC increased its stake in Applied Optoelectronics by 15.3% in the 4th quarter. Emerald Advisers LLC now owns 606,997 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $22,374,000 after purchasing an additional 80,539 shares during the period. Affinity Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Applied Optoelectronics in the 4th quarter worth approximately $7,965,000. Intech Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Applied Optoelectronics in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $511,000. Finally, Polymer Capital Management HK LTD bought a new stake in Applied Optoelectronics in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,102,000. 61.72% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.