Applied Optoelectronics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AAOI) Given Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Shares of Applied Optoelectronics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AAOI) have been given a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the four ratings firms that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold recommendation and three have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 1 year price target among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $16.88.

A number of analysts have weighed in on AAOI shares. TheStreet upgraded shares of Applied Optoelectronics from a “d” rating to a “c-” rating in a research note on Friday, February 23rd. Rosenblatt Securities reduced their price objective on shares of Applied Optoelectronics from $23.00 to $20.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 23rd. Finally, B. Riley restated a “neutral” rating and set a $16.00 price objective (down from $22.00) on shares of Applied Optoelectronics in a research note on Friday, February 23rd.

Insider Activity at Applied Optoelectronics

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Applied Optoelectronics

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of AAOI. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its position in Applied Optoelectronics by 9,687.4% in the fourth quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 853,948 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $16,498,000 after purchasing an additional 845,223 shares during the last quarter. CloudAlpha Capital Management Limited Hong Kong increased its position in Applied Optoelectronics by 380.6% during the fourth quarter. CloudAlpha Capital Management Limited Hong Kong now owns 637,200 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $12,311,000 after acquiring an additional 504,610 shares during the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC bought a new position in Applied Optoelectronics during the fourth quarter valued at $9,716,000. Citigroup Inc. increased its position in Applied Optoelectronics by 0.6% during the third 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 during the last quarter. Finally, Trexquant Investment LP increased its position in Applied Optoelectronics by 16.2% during the fourth quarter. Trexquant Investment LP now owns 165,070 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $3,189,000 after acquiring an additional 22,977 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 61.72% of the company’s stock.

Applied Optoelectronics Trading Down 8.2 %

Shares of NASDAQ AAOI opened at $11.13 on Tuesday. Applied Optoelectronics has a 1 year low of $1.60 and a 1 year high of $24.75. The stock has a market cap of $427.39 million, a P/E ratio of -6.25 and a beta of 2.04. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $14.67 and a 200 day moving average of $14.89. 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 (NASDAQ:AAOI) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 22nd. The semiconductor company reported $0.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. Applied Optoelectronics had a negative net margin of 25.75% and a negative return on equity of 13.83%. The company had revenue of $60.50 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $65.19 million. During the same period last year, the company posted ($0.27) EPS. Applied Optoelectronics’s revenue was down 3.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Applied Optoelectronics will post -0.2 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.