Applied Optoelectronics (NASDAQ:AAOI) Shares Up 8.8%

Applied Optoelectronics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AAOI)’s stock price was up 8.8% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $13.20 and last traded at $13.04. Approximately 913,585 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 68% from the average daily volume of 2,847,218 shares. The stock had previously closed at $11.99.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the company. Rosenblatt Securities dropped their price target on Applied Optoelectronics from $23.00 to $20.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 23rd. TheStreet raised shares of Applied Optoelectronics from a “d” rating to a “c-” rating in a report on Friday, February 23rd. Finally, B. Riley reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $16.00 target price (down previously from $22.00) on shares of Applied Optoelectronics in a research note on Friday, February 23rd. One research analyst has 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 MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $16.88.

Applied Optoelectronics Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38, a current ratio of 1.85 and a quick ratio of 1.16. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $15.31 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $14.83.

Applied Optoelectronics (NASDAQ:AAOI) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 22nd. The semiconductor company reported $0.04 earnings per share for the quarter. Applied Optoelectronics had a negative return on equity of 13.83% and a negative net margin of 25.75%. The business had revenue of $60.50 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $65.19 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned ($0.27) EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 3.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Applied Optoelectronics, Inc. will post -0.2 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Applied Optoelectronics

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

Institutional Trading of Applied Optoelectronics

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. UBS Group AG raised its position in Applied Optoelectronics by 201.6% during the third quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 11,543 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 7,716 shares in the last quarter. Virtu Financial LLC purchased a new position in shares of Applied Optoelectronics during the 4th quarter valued at about $31,000. Squarepoint Ops LLC bought a new stake in Applied Optoelectronics in the 1st quarter worth approximately $34,000. Jane Street Group LLC purchased a new stake in Applied Optoelectronics in the fourth quarter worth approximately $49,000. Finally, XTX Topco Ltd purchased a new stake in Applied Optoelectronics in the first quarter worth approximately $73,000. 61.72% of the stock is owned by 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.