StockNews.com Upgrades Applied Optoelectronics (NASDAQ:AAOI) to Sell

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Applied Optoelectronics (NASDAQ:AAOI) to a sell rating in a research report sent to investors on Friday morning.

Other equities analysts have also issued research reports about the company. Raymond James boosted their target price on Applied Optoelectronics from $17.00 to $39.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Rosenblatt Securities boosted their price objective on shares of Applied Optoelectronics from $27.50 to $44.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. Northland Securities restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $40.00 target price (up previously from $25.00) on shares of Applied Optoelectronics in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. Finally, B. Riley lowered shares of Applied Optoelectronics from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and set a $14.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $29.20.

Applied Optoelectronics Price Performance

Shares of AAOI opened at $27.92 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $1.31 billion, a P/E ratio of -13.55 and a beta of 2.39. Applied Optoelectronics has a twelve month low of $6.70 and a twelve month 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 firm has a 50 day moving average of $34.31 and a 200 day moving average of $21.68.

Insider Activity at Applied Optoelectronics

In other news, insider Hung-Lun (Fred) Chang sold 20,323 shares of the firm’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 transaction, the insider now owns 195,572 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,935,610.20. This trade represents a 9.41 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider David C. Kuo sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $26.93, for a total value of $269,300.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 118,122 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,181,025.46. This trade represents a 7.81 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 103,067 shares of company stock worth $3,513,238. 5.40% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Applied Optoelectronics

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP purchased a new position in shares of Applied Optoelectronics in the third quarter worth $19,019,000. Whale Rock Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Applied Optoelectronics in the 3rd quarter valued at $16,145,000. Royce & Associates LP lifted its stake in Applied Optoelectronics by 47.7% in the 3rd quarter. Royce & Associates LP now owns 1,596,545 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $22,847,000 after purchasing an additional 515,489 shares in the last quarter. JAT Capital Mgmt LP bought a new position in shares of Applied Optoelectronics during the 3rd quarter valued at about $6,470,000. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. purchased a new position in shares of Applied Optoelectronics during the fourth quarter valued at about $12,731,000. Hedge funds and other 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.