Applied Optoelectronics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AAOI) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

Shares of Applied Optoelectronics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AAOI) have received an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the four analysts that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold recommendation and three have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price objective among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $16.88.

AAOI has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. B. Riley reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $16.00 target price (down from $22.00) on shares of Applied Optoelectronics in a research note on Friday, February 23rd. Rosenblatt Securities cut their target price on Applied Optoelectronics from $23.00 to $20.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 23rd. Finally, TheStreet upgraded Applied Optoelectronics from a “d” rating to a “c-” rating in a research note on Friday, February 23rd.

Applied Optoelectronics Stock Performance

Applied Optoelectronics stock opened at $13.86 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $532.22 million, a PE ratio of -7.79 and a beta of 2.06. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $16.49 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $14.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38, a current ratio of 1.85 and a quick ratio of 1.16. Applied Optoelectronics has a 12 month low of $1.60 and a 12 month high of $24.75.

Applied Optoelectronics (NASDAQ:AAOI) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 22nd. The semiconductor company reported $0.04 EPS for the quarter. The firm had revenue of $60.50 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $65.19 million. Applied Optoelectronics had a negative net margin of 25.75% and a negative return on equity of 13.83%. The firm’s revenue was down 3.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted ($0.27) earnings per share. Research analysts expect that Applied Optoelectronics will post -0.2 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Che-Wei Lin bought 31,370 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 18th. The shares were 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 $2,795,689.10. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, Director Che-Wei Lin purchased 31,370 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 18th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $12.70 per share, with a total value of $398,399.00. Following the purchase, the director now owns 220,133 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,795,689.10. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Chih-Hsiang (Thompson) Lin purchased 11,780 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 18th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $12.66 per share, for a total transaction of $149,134.80. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,218,160 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,421,905.60. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 6.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Applied Optoelectronics

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Citigroup Inc. grew its stake 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 acquiring an additional 1,872 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp grew its stake in Applied Optoelectronics by 2.7% during the 2nd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 75,634 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $451,000 after acquiring an additional 2,015 shares in the last quarter. UBS Group AG grew its stake in Applied Optoelectronics by 201.6% during the 3rd quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 11,543 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 7,716 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Applied Optoelectronics by 2.5% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 332,193 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $627,000 after buying an additional 7,955 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Headlands Technologies LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Applied Optoelectronics during the 4th quarter valued at about $191,000. Hedge funds and other 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.