Raymond James Issues Pessimistic Forecast for Applied Optoelectronics (NASDAQ:AAOI) Stock Price

Applied Optoelectronics (NASDAQ:AAOI) had its price target cut by Raymond James from $31.00 to $20.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Monday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an “outperform” rating on the semiconductor company’s stock. Raymond James’ target price points to a potential upside of 74.67% from the company’s previous close.

AAOI has been the topic of a number of other research reports. B. Riley raised Applied Optoelectronics from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $13.00 target price on the stock in a report on Friday, March 7th. Northland Securities reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $40.00 price objective (up from $25.00) on shares of Applied Optoelectronics in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Applied Optoelectronics to a “sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Finally, Rosenblatt Securities reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $36.00 target price on shares of Applied Optoelectronics in a report on Friday, March 14th. 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. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $23.60.

Applied Optoelectronics Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ AAOI opened at $11.45 on Monday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $19.39 and its 200-day simple moving average is $25.06. The firm has a market capitalization of $570.79 million, a PE ratio of -5.56 and a beta of 2.57. Applied Optoelectronics has a fifty-two week low of $6.70 and a fifty-two week high of $44.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a current ratio of 1.61.

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 analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.02) by ($0.07). Applied Optoelectronics had a negative return on equity of 22.36% and a negative net margin of 38.61%. The company had revenue of $100.27 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $99.92 million. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Applied Optoelectronics will post -1.18 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Applied Optoelectronics

In other news, CFO Stefan J. Murry sold 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $23.06, for a total transaction of $46,120.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 196,581 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,533,157.86. The trade was a 1.01 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders have sold a total of 8,298 shares of company stock valued at $253,821 in the last ninety days. 4.96% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Applied Optoelectronics

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Meeder Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Applied Optoelectronics during the 4th quarter worth $38,000. Sterling Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Applied Optoelectronics by 858.2% during the 4th quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 1,284 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $47,000 after acquiring an additional 1,150 shares in the last quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board acquired a new position in Applied Optoelectronics during the fourth quarter worth about $63,000. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Applied Optoelectronics by 17.6% in the fourth quarter. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 4,262 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $157,000 after purchasing an additional 637 shares in the last quarter. Finally, FMR LLC grew its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 5,956 shares during the last quarter. 61.72% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.