Applied Optoelectronics (NASDAQ:AAOI) Stock Price Down 7.6% – Here’s What Happened

Applied Optoelectronics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AAOI)’s share price fell 7.6% during trading on Monday . The stock traded as low as $28.70 and last traded at $29.20. 630,752 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 75% from the average session volume of 2,502,750 shares. The stock had previously closed at $31.60.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on AAOI. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Applied Optoelectronics to a “sell” rating in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. Rosenblatt Securities boosted their target price on shares of Applied Optoelectronics from $27.50 to $44.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Northland Securities reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $40.00 price target (up previously from $25.00) on shares of Applied Optoelectronics in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. Raymond James boosted their price objective on Applied Optoelectronics from $17.00 to $39.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, December 20th. Finally, B. Riley downgraded Applied Optoelectronics from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and set a $14.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Applied Optoelectronics has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $29.20.

Applied Optoelectronics Trading Down 4.1 %

The firm has a market cap of $1.30 billion, a P/E ratio of -13.49 and a beta of 2.39. The business’s 50-day moving average is $33.69 and its two-hundred day moving average is $19.66. The company has a current ratio of 1.61, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Stefan J. Murry sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $31.56, for a total transaction of $157,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 216,129 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,821,031.24. This represents a 2.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director William H. Yeh sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owns 223,538 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,630,017.04. This trade represents a 4.28 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 86,769 shares of company stock valued at $3,015,537. 5.40% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of AAOI. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Applied Optoelectronics by 90.7% during the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 75,981 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $630,000 after buying an additional 36,138 shares during the period. XTX Topco Ltd acquired a new position in Applied Optoelectronics during the 3rd quarter worth $1,109,000. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of Applied Optoelectronics in the third quarter worth $1,319,000. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP acquired a new position in shares of Applied Optoelectronics during the third quarter valued at $19,019,000. Finally, Virtu Financial LLC bought a new stake in shares of Applied Optoelectronics during the third quarter valued at about $353,000. Institutional investors own 61.72% of the company’s stock.

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.