Applied Optoelectronics (NASDAQ:AAOI) Stock Rating Upgraded by Wall Street Zen

Applied Optoelectronics (NASDAQ:AAOI) was upgraded by stock analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note issued on Friday.

A number of other analysts have also recently weighed in on the stock. Raymond James reduced their price objective on shares of Applied Optoelectronics from $20.00 to $18.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 9th. B. Riley raised shares of Applied Optoelectronics from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $13.00 target price for the company in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Finally, Rosenblatt Securities raised their price target on Applied Optoelectronics to $30.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 9th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $22.00.

Applied Optoelectronics Stock Down 7.6%

Shares of Applied Optoelectronics stock opened at $15.65 on Friday. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $14.64 and its 200-day moving average is $24.43. The firm has a market capitalization of $869.26 million, a PE ratio of -7.60 and a beta of 2.55. Applied Optoelectronics has a 12-month low of $6.70 and a 12-month high of $44.50. The company has a quick ratio of 1.06, a current ratio of 1.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36.

Applied Optoelectronics (NASDAQ:AAOI) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The semiconductor company reported ($0.02) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.04) by $0.02. Applied Optoelectronics had a negative return on equity of 22.36% and a negative net margin of 38.61%. The company had revenue of $99.86 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $99.37 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted ($0.31) EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 145.5% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts anticipate that Applied Optoelectronics will post -1.18 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Applied Optoelectronics

In other Applied Optoelectronics news, insider Hung-Lun (Fred) Chang sold 23,837 shares of Applied Optoelectronics stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $19.06, for a total transaction of $454,333.22. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 278,842 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,314,728.52. The trade was a 7.88% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Chih-Hsiang (Thompson) Lin bought 21,200 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 13th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $18.22 per share, with a total value of $386,264.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,659,025 shares in the company, valued at $30,227,435.50. This represents a 1.29% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 39,263 shares of company stock worth $740,590. 4.96% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Applied Optoelectronics

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Applied Optoelectronics in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,124,000. Rhumbline Advisers lifted its stake in Applied Optoelectronics by 9.1% in the fourth quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 60,348 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $2,224,000 after acquiring an additional 5,035 shares during the last quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund increased its position in Applied Optoelectronics by 131.5% during the fourth quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 12,500 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $461,000 after buying an additional 7,100 shares during the last quarter. Yong Rong HK Asset Management Ltd acquired a new stake in Applied Optoelectronics during the 4th quarter valued at $27,645,000. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Applied Optoelectronics by 25.6% during the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 125,131 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $4,612,000 after buying an additional 25,482 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 61.72% of the company’s stock.

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.