White Pine Capital LLC Sells 50,357 Shares of Applied Optoelectronics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AAOI)

White Pine Capital LLC reduced its stake in Applied Optoelectronics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AAOI) by 66.8% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 24,981 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after selling 50,357 shares during the quarter. White Pine Capital LLC owned about 0.05% of Applied Optoelectronics worth $921,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP bought a new stake in Applied Optoelectronics in the 3rd quarter valued at $19,019,000. Whale Rock Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Applied Optoelectronics during the third quarter worth $16,145,000. Royce & Associates LP boosted its position in shares of Applied Optoelectronics by 47.7% in the third quarter. Royce & Associates LP now owns 1,596,545 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $22,847,000 after acquiring an additional 515,489 shares during the period. JAT Capital Mgmt LP acquired a new position in shares of Applied Optoelectronics in the third quarter valued at about $6,470,000. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. acquired a new position in shares of Applied Optoelectronics in the fourth quarter valued at about $12,731,000. 61.72% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Hung-Lun (Fred) Chang sold 20,323 shares of the firm’s 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 completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 195,572 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,935,610.20. This trade represents a 9.41 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Stefan J. Murry sold 2,298 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $35.17, for a total value of $80,820.66. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 209,831 shares in the company, valued at $7,379,756.27. This trade represents a 1.08 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 93,067 shares of company stock valued at $3,243,938 in the last ninety days. 5.40% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have issued reports on AAOI. Northland Securities restated an “outperform” rating and set a $40.00 target price (up previously from $25.00) on shares of Applied Optoelectronics in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. StockNews.com upgraded Applied Optoelectronics to a “sell” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. B. Riley lowered Applied Optoelectronics from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and set a $14.00 price objective on the stock. in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Rosenblatt Securities upped their target price on Applied Optoelectronics from $27.50 to $44.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Finally, Raymond James increased their target price on Applied Optoelectronics from $17.00 to $39.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, December 20th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Applied Optoelectronics has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $29.20.

Applied Optoelectronics Stock Performance

Applied Optoelectronics stock opened at $27.04 on Friday. The business has a 50 day moving average of $32.34 and a 200-day moving average of $22.67. The company has a market capitalization of $1.27 billion, a P/E ratio of -13.13 and a beta of 2.36. Applied Optoelectronics, Inc. has a 1 year low of $6.70 and a 1 year high of $44.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 1.61 and a quick ratio of 1.06.

Applied Optoelectronics 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.