Brokerages Set Applied Optoelectronics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AAOI) PT at $24.00

Shares of Applied Optoelectronics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AAOI) have earned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the five brokerages that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and three have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 1-year target price among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $24.00.

Several brokerages recently commented on AAOI. Wall Street Zen cut Applied Optoelectronics from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, June 7th. Rosenblatt Securities lifted their price target on Applied Optoelectronics to $30.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 9th. B. Riley upgraded Applied Optoelectronics from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $13.00 price objective for the company in a report on Friday, March 7th. Northland Securities raised their target price on Applied Optoelectronics to $50.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, June 13th. Finally, Raymond James Financial dropped their price target on shares of Applied Optoelectronics from $20.00 to $18.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 9th.

Applied Optoelectronics Stock Performance

AAOI stock opened at $19.77 on Friday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $15.48 and a 200 day simple moving average of $22.81. The company has a market capitalization of $1.10 billion, a P/E ratio of -5.12 and a beta of 2.64. The company has a quick ratio of 1.34, a current ratio of 1.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47. Applied Optoelectronics has a fifty-two week low of $6.70 and a fifty-two week high of $44.50.

Applied Optoelectronics (NASDAQ:AAOI) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The semiconductor company reported ($0.02) EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.04) by $0.02. The company had revenue of $99.86 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $99.37 million. Applied Optoelectronics had a negative net margin of 55.98% and a negative return on equity of 15.40%. Applied Optoelectronics’s revenue was up 145.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned ($0.31) EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Applied Optoelectronics will post -1.18 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Applied Optoelectronics

In related news, CFO Stefan J. Murry sold 2,000 shares of Applied Optoelectronics stock in a transaction on Monday, June 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $16.05, for a total value of $32,100.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 321,036 shares in the company, valued at $5,152,627.80. The trade was a 0.62% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Chih-Hsiang (Thompson) Lin bought 21,200 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 13th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $18.22 per share, for a total transaction of $386,264.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,659,025 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $30,227,435.50. This trade represents a 1.29% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 39,263 shares of company stock valued at $726,570. Corporate insiders own 4.50% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Applied Optoelectronics

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of AAOI. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Applied Optoelectronics by 14.4% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,779,563 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $42,666,000 after acquiring an additional 350,145 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Applied Optoelectronics by 7.7% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 979,769 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $36,123,000 after purchasing an additional 70,210 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its stake in Applied Optoelectronics by 182.7% during the 1st quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 976,520 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $14,990,000 after purchasing an additional 631,128 shares during the period. Royce & Associates LP lifted its holdings in shares of Applied Optoelectronics by 15.2% in the first quarter. Royce & Associates LP now owns 876,543 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $13,455,000 after purchasing an additional 115,853 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nomura Holdings Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Applied Optoelectronics in the fourth quarter worth $31,331,000. 61.72% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.