Applied Optoelectronics (NASDAQ:AAOI) Trading Up 8% – Should You Buy?

Shares of Applied Optoelectronics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AAOI) shot up 8% on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $26.95 and last traded at $27.03. 1,015,918 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 65% from the average session volume of 2,872,368 shares. The stock had previously closed at $25.03.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently weighed in on AAOI. Raymond James boosted their target price on Applied Optoelectronics from $17.00 to $39.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Northland Securities reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $40.00 price objective (up previously from $25.00) on shares of Applied Optoelectronics in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. StockNews.com raised Applied Optoelectronics to a “sell” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. B. Riley cut Applied Optoelectronics from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and set a $14.00 price target for the company. in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, Rosenblatt Securities lifted their price objective on Applied Optoelectronics from $27.50 to $44.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $29.20.

Applied Optoelectronics Trading Up 9.7 %

The company has a market capitalization of $1.29 billion, a PE ratio of -13.32 and a beta of 2.36. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $32.49 and a 200-day simple moving average of $22.64. The company has a current ratio of 1.61, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Applied Optoelectronics news, Director Richard B. Black sold 10,000 shares of Applied Optoelectronics stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $29.00, for a total value of $290,000.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 157,813 shares in the company, valued at $4,576,577. The trade was a 5.96 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Min-Chu (Mike) Chen sold 9,790 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, November 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.00, for a total value of $391,600.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 165,054 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,602,160. This represents a 5.60 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 93,067 shares of company stock valued at $3,243,938 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 5.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Applied Optoelectronics

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Sterling Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Applied Optoelectronics by 858.2% in the 4th quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 1,284 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $47,000 after purchasing an additional 1,150 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in Applied Optoelectronics during the 4th quarter worth approximately $6,556,000. Polymer Capital Management HK LTD purchased a new stake in shares of Applied Optoelectronics in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,102,000. Russell Investments Group Ltd. increased its position in shares of Applied Optoelectronics by 3,718.6% in the 4th quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 20,964 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $773,000 after purchasing an additional 20,415 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Trexquant Investment LP purchased a new stake in shares of Applied Optoelectronics in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $5,851,000. 61.72% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.