Silvercrest Asset Management Group LLC Boosts Stake in Applied Optoelectronics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AAOI)

Silvercrest Asset Management Group LLC grew its position in shares of Applied Optoelectronics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AAOI) by 2.9% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 235,049 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after buying an additional 6,730 shares during the quarter. Silvercrest Asset Management Group LLC’s holdings in Applied Optoelectronics were worth $8,664,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Meeder Asset Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Applied Optoelectronics during the fourth quarter worth about $38,000. Sterling Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Applied Optoelectronics by 858.2% during the 4th quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 1,284 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $47,000 after acquiring an additional 1,150 shares during the period. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board purchased a new stake in shares of Applied Optoelectronics during the 4th quarter worth approximately $63,000. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Applied Optoelectronics by 17.6% in the 4th quarter. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 4,262 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $157,000 after purchasing an additional 637 shares during the period. Finally, Catalyst Funds Management Pty Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Applied Optoelectronics in the 4th quarter worth approximately $229,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 61.72% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have weighed in on AAOI. Raymond James reduced their price objective on 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 increased their price target on Applied Optoelectronics to $30.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 9th. B. Riley raised 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. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Applied Optoelectronics to a “sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $22.00.

Applied Optoelectronics Price Performance

Applied Optoelectronics stock opened at $18.69 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.04 billion, a P/E ratio of -9.07 and a beta of 2.55. Applied Optoelectronics, Inc. has a one year low of $6.70 and a one year high of $44.50. 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 has a fifty day moving average price of $15.16 and a 200-day moving average price of $24.73.

Applied Optoelectronics (NASDAQ:AAOI) last issued its earnings results 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 business had revenue of $99.86 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $99.37 million. Applied Optoelectronics had a negative return on equity of 22.36% and a negative net margin of 38.61%. The firm’s revenue was up 145.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned ($0.31) EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Applied Optoelectronics, Inc. will post -1.18 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Applied Optoelectronics

In other news, CEO Chih-Hsiang (Thompson) Lin purchased 21,200 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 13th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $18.22 per share, with a total value of $386,264.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer now owns 1,659,025 shares in the company, valued at $30,227,435.50. This trade represents a 1.29% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Stefan J. Murry sold 2,000 shares of Applied Optoelectronics stock in a transaction on Monday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $23.06, for a total value of $46,120.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 196,581 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,533,157.86. This represents a 1.01% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 39,263 shares of company stock valued at $740,590. 4.96% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.