Applied Optoelectronics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AAOI) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Applied Optoelectronics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AAOI) has been assigned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the four research firms that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 1-year target price among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $16.88.

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. B. Riley reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $16.00 price objective (down previously from $22.00) on shares of Applied Optoelectronics in a report on Friday, February 23rd. Rosenblatt Securities dropped their price objective on shares of Applied Optoelectronics from $23.00 to $20.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 23rd. Finally, TheStreet raised shares of Applied Optoelectronics from a “d” rating to a “c-” rating in a report on Friday, February 23rd.

Applied Optoelectronics Stock Performance

NASDAQ:AAOI opened at $11.16 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $428.54 million, a PE ratio of -6.27 and a beta of 2.04. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $15.46 and a 200 day moving average price of $14.83. The company has a quick ratio of 1.16, a current ratio of 1.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38. Applied Optoelectronics has a 12-month low of $1.60 and a 12-month high of $24.75.

Applied Optoelectronics (NASDAQ:AAOI) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 22nd. The semiconductor company reported $0.04 earnings per share for the quarter. The company had revenue of $60.50 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $65.19 million. Applied Optoelectronics had a negative net margin of 25.75% and a negative return on equity of 13.83%. The company’s revenue was down 3.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted ($0.27) earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that Applied Optoelectronics will post -0.2 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Applied Optoelectronics

In related news, Director Che-Wei Lin purchased 31,370 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 18th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $12.70 per share, with a total value of $398,399.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 220,133 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,795,689.10. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Applied Optoelectronics news, Director Che-Wei Lin acquired 31,370 shares of Applied Optoelectronics stock in a transaction on Monday, March 18th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $12.70 per share, with a total value of $398,399.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 220,133 shares in the company, valued at $2,795,689.10. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Chih-Hsiang (Thompson) Lin acquired 11,780 shares of Applied Optoelectronics stock in a transaction on Monday, March 18th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $12.66 per share, for a total transaction of $149,134.80. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer now owns 1,218,160 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $15,421,905.60. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 6.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Applied Optoelectronics

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Nomura Holdings Inc. bought a new position in Applied Optoelectronics in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,501,000. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in Applied Optoelectronics by 15.3% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,512,221 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $29,216,000 after acquiring an additional 200,163 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Applied Optoelectronics by 9,687.4% during the fourth quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 853,948 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $16,498,000 after purchasing an additional 845,223 shares in the last quarter. GSA Capital Partners LLP boosted its position in shares of Applied Optoelectronics by 54.4% during the fourth quarter. GSA Capital Partners LLP now owns 65,252 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $1,261,000 after purchasing an additional 22,999 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Barclays PLC boosted its position in shares of Applied Optoelectronics by 280.1% during the fourth quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 151,722 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $2,931,000 after purchasing an additional 235,972 shares in the last quarter. 61.72% of the stock is owned by 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.