Applied Optoelectronics (NASDAQ:AAOI) Trading Up 6.1% – Still a Buy?

Applied Optoelectronics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AAOI)’s share price shot up 6.1% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $34.20 and last traded at $32.00. 1,444,524 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 48% from the average session volume of 2,781,017 shares. The stock had previously closed at $30.15.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Northland Securities restated an “outperform” rating and set a $40.00 target price (up previously from $25.00) on shares of Applied Optoelectronics in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. B. Riley downgraded Applied Optoelectronics from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and set a $14.00 target price for the company. in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Raymond James increased their target price on Applied Optoelectronics from $17.00 to $39.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, December 20th. StockNews.com raised Applied Optoelectronics to a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. Finally, Rosenblatt Securities increased their price objective on shares of Applied Optoelectronics from $27.50 to $44.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $29.20.

Applied Optoelectronics Trading Up 8.5 %

The company has a current ratio of 1.61, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $34.62 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $20.61. The stock has a market cap of $1.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -15.89 and a beta of 2.39.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider David C. Kuo sold 10,000 shares of Applied Optoelectronics stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $26.93, for a total value of $269,300.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 118,122 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,181,025.46. This trade represents a 7.81 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $31.56, for a total value of $157,800.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 216,129 shares in the company, valued at $6,821,031.24. The trade was a 2.26 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 100,769 shares of company stock worth $3,432,417. Insiders own 5.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Applied Optoelectronics

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in AAOI. Pingora Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Applied Optoelectronics in the 3rd quarter worth about $82,000. FMR LLC boosted its stake in Applied Optoelectronics by 3,290.6% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 6,137 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $88,000 after acquiring an additional 5,956 shares during the period. Point72 Hong Kong Ltd bought a new position in shares of Applied Optoelectronics during the second quarter valued at approximately $89,000. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Applied Optoelectronics during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $186,000. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company bought a new stake in shares of Applied Optoelectronics in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $118,000. Institutional investors own 61.72% of the company’s stock.

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.