Applied Optoelectronics (NASDAQ:AAOI) Downgraded by B. Riley to Sell

B. Riley cut shares of Applied Optoelectronics (NASDAQ:AAOI) from a neutral rating to a sell rating in a research report released on Tuesday morning, MarketBeat.com reports. B. Riley currently has $14.00 target price on the semiconductor company’s stock.

AAOI has been the topic of several other research reports. Northland Securities lifted their price objective on shares of Applied Optoelectronics from $18.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, November 8th. Raymond James upped their price objective on Applied Optoelectronics from $17.00 to $23.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, November 8th. StockNews.com raised Applied Optoelectronics to a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Finally, Rosenblatt Securities upped their price target on Applied Optoelectronics from $20.00 to $27.50 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 8th. Two 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’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $19.70.

Applied Optoelectronics Stock Performance

Shares of Applied Optoelectronics stock opened at $33.09 on Tuesday. Applied Optoelectronics has a 52 week low of $6.70 and a 52 week high of $44.50. The company has a quick ratio of 1.06, a current ratio of 1.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $24.85 and a 200-day moving average price of $15.44. The company has a market cap of $1.49 billion, a PE ratio of -16.06 and a beta of 2.36.

Insider Activity at Applied Optoelectronics

In related news, Director William H. Yeh sold 10,000 shares of Applied Optoelectronics stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.08, for a total transaction of $430,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 223,538 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,630,017.04. This trade represents a 4.28 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Hung-Lun (Fred) Chang sold 20,323 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $30.35, for a total value of $616,803.05. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 195,572 shares in the company, valued at $5,935,610.20. This represents a 9.41 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 86,769 shares of company stock worth $2,813,037. 5.40% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Applied Optoelectronics

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank boosted its stake in shares of Applied Optoelectronics by 272.1% during the second quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 9,281 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $77,000 after purchasing an additional 6,787 shares during the period. Pingora Partners LLC bought a new position in Applied Optoelectronics during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $82,000. FMR LLC raised its position in shares of Applied Optoelectronics by 3,290.6% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 6,137 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $88,000 after purchasing an additional 5,956 shares during the last quarter. Point72 Hong Kong Ltd bought a new position in shares of Applied Optoelectronics in the second quarter worth approximately $89,000. Finally, Summit Securities Group LLC bought a new position in Applied Optoelectronics in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $109,000. 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.