Applied Optoelectronics (NASDAQ:AAOI) Shares Gap Up – Still a Buy?

Applied Optoelectronics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AAOI)’s stock price gapped up before the market opened on Friday . The stock had previously closed at $15.55, but opened at $15.92. Applied Optoelectronics shares last traded at $15.46, with a volume of 179,052 shares.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently commented on the company. StockNews.com raised Applied Optoelectronics to a “sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. B. Riley upgraded shares of Applied Optoelectronics from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $13.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Friday. Rosenblatt Securities restated a “buy” rating and set a $44.00 price objective on shares of Applied Optoelectronics in a research note on Monday, February 24th. Northland Securities reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $40.00 target price (up from $25.00) on shares of Applied Optoelectronics in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. Finally, Raymond James increased their price target on shares of Applied Optoelectronics to $31.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 28th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $27.40.

Applied Optoelectronics Trading Down 2.9 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a current ratio of 1.61. The firm has a market cap of $707.66 million, a PE ratio of -7.33 and a beta of 2.36. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $29.08 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $24.33.

Applied Optoelectronics (NASDAQ:AAOI) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 26th. The semiconductor company reported ($0.09) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.02) by ($0.07). The company had revenue of $100.27 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $99.92 million. Applied Optoelectronics had a negative net margin of 38.61% and a negative return on equity of 22.36%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Applied Optoelectronics, Inc. will post -1.18 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Richard B. Black sold 10,000 shares of Applied Optoelectronics stock in a transaction on Monday, December 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $35.27, for a total transaction of $352,700.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 167,813 shares in the company, valued at $5,918,764.51. This trade represents a 5.62 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Stefan J. Murry sold 4,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $31.72, for a total value of $126,880.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 212,129 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,728,731.88. This trade represents a 1.85 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 26,298 shares of company stock valued at $850,401 in the last quarter. 5.40% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in AAOI. Meeder Asset Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Applied Optoelectronics in the 4th quarter worth approximately $38,000. Sterling Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Applied Optoelectronics by 858.2% in the fourth quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 1,284 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $47,000 after purchasing an additional 1,150 shares in the last quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board purchased a new stake in shares of Applied Optoelectronics in the fourth quarter worth $63,000. Pingora Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Applied Optoelectronics during the 3rd quarter valued at $82,000. Finally, FMR LLC lifted its stake in shares of Applied Optoelectronics by 3,290.6% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 6,137 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $88,000 after buying an additional 5,956 shares in the last quarter. 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.