Applied Optoelectronics (NASDAQ:AAOI) Raised to Hold at StockNews.com

Applied Optoelectronics (NASDAQ:AAOI) was upgraded by stock analysts at StockNews.com from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note issued to investors on Thursday.

Several other equities research analysts have also commented on the stock. Rosenblatt Securities reduced their price target on shares of Applied Optoelectronics from $23.00 to $20.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 23rd. B. Riley reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $16.00 price target (down previously from $22.00) on shares of Applied Optoelectronics in a research report on Friday, February 23rd. Finally, TheStreet raised shares of Applied Optoelectronics from a “d” rating to a “c-” rating in a research report on Friday, February 23rd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Applied Optoelectronics currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $16.88.

Applied Optoelectronics Price Performance

AAOI opened at $11.07 on Thursday. Applied Optoelectronics has a 52-week low of $1.60 and a 52-week high of $24.75. The stock has a market capitalization of $428.74 million, a P/E ratio of -6.22 and a beta of 2.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38, a quick ratio of 1.16 and a current ratio of 1.85. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $13.07 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $14.93.

Applied Optoelectronics (NASDAQ:AAOI) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 22nd. The semiconductor company reported $0.04 EPS for the quarter. Applied Optoelectronics had a negative net margin of 25.75% and a negative return on equity of 13.83%. The firm had revenue of $60.50 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $65.19 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned ($0.27) EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts predict that Applied Optoelectronics will post -0.2 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Applied Optoelectronics

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in AAOI. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in Applied Optoelectronics during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $167,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its holdings in Applied Optoelectronics by 360.8% during the 3rd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 48,617 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $533,000 after buying an additional 38,066 shares in the last quarter. CloudAlpha Capital Management Limited Hong Kong grew its holdings in Applied Optoelectronics by 117.4% during the 3rd quarter. CloudAlpha Capital Management Limited Hong Kong now owns 132,590 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $1,455,000 after buying an additional 71,590 shares in the last quarter. Jump Financial LLC purchased a new stake in Applied Optoelectronics during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $320,000. Finally, Citigroup Inc. grew its holdings in Applied Optoelectronics by 0.6% during the 3rd quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 318,270 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $3,491,000 after buying an additional 1,872 shares in the last quarter. 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.