Applied Optoelectronics (NASDAQ:AAOI) Upgraded by StockNews.com to Sell Rating

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

A number of other research analysts have also commented on AAOI. Northland Securities reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $40.00 price target (up from $25.00) on shares of Applied Optoelectronics in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. Raymond James upped their price target on Applied Optoelectronics from $17.00 to $39.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, December 20th. Rosenblatt Securities upped their price target on Applied Optoelectronics from $27.50 to $44.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. Finally, B. Riley lowered 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 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 stock. According to MarketBeat, Applied Optoelectronics currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $29.20.

Applied Optoelectronics Stock Up 6.5 %

Shares of AAOI stock opened at $37.90 on Friday. Applied Optoelectronics has a 12 month low of $6.70 and a 12 month high of $44.50. The firm has a market cap of $1.78 billion, a PE ratio of -18.40 and a beta of 2.39. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $31.79 and a 200-day moving average of $18.68. The company has a quick ratio of 1.06, a current ratio of 1.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Hung-Lun (Fred) Chang sold 20,323 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $30.35, for a total transaction of $616,803.05. Following the sale, the insider now owns 195,572 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,935,610.20. This represents a 9.41 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider David C. Kuo sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, November 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $26.93, for a total value of $269,300.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 118,122 shares in the company, valued at $3,181,025.46. The trade was a 7.81 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 86,769 shares of company stock worth $3,015,537 over the last three months. 5.40% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Applied Optoelectronics

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in AAOI. Bank of New York Mellon Corp bought a new position in Applied Optoelectronics during the second quarter worth about $956,000. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank boosted its holdings in Applied Optoelectronics by 272.1% during the second quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 9,281 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $77,000 after buying an additional 6,787 shares during the last quarter. Rhumbline Advisers bought a new position in Applied Optoelectronics during the second quarter worth about $449,000. Acuitas Investments LLC boosted its holdings in Applied Optoelectronics by 38.4% during the second quarter. Acuitas Investments LLC now owns 331,221 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $2,746,000 after buying an additional 91,885 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its holdings in Applied Optoelectronics by 4.1% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 616,701 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $5,113,000 after buying an additional 24,259 shares during the last quarter. 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.