Applied Optoelectronics (NASDAQ:AAOI) Upgraded at Northland Securities

Northland Securities upgraded shares of Applied Optoelectronics (NASDAQ:AAOI) from a market perform rating to an outperform rating in a research report released on Monday, MarketBeat reports. The firm currently has $120.00 price target on the semiconductor company’s stock.

AAOI has been the topic of a number of other reports. Rosenblatt Securities restated a “buy” rating and issued a $220.00 price target on shares of Applied Optoelectronics in a research note on Friday, August 7th. Wall Street Zen raised Applied Optoelectronics from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 8th. B. Riley Financial reduced their target price on shares of Applied Optoelectronics from $109.00 to $92.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 15th. Needham & Company LLC cut their price objective on shares of Applied Optoelectronics from $190.00 to $170.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, October 27th. Finally, Raymond James Financial reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $178.00 target price on shares of Applied Optoelectronics in a research report on Tuesday, August 11th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $156.00.

Applied Optoelectronics Trading Down 7.3%

Shares of AAOI stock opened at $59.27 on Monday. Applied Optoelectronics has a 12-month low of $18.50 and a 12-month high of $233.67. The company has a current ratio of 2.78, a quick ratio of 2.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $95.56 and its 200 day moving average is $113.14. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.01 billion, a P/E ratio of -75.99 and a beta of 4.04.

Applied Optoelectronics (NASDAQ:AAOI) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The semiconductor company reported $0.06 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.02 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $191.92 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $190.48 million. Applied Optoelectronics had a negative net margin of 9.57% and a negative return on equity of 1.98%. The firm’s revenue was up 86.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted ($0.16) EPS. Research analysts expect that Applied Optoelectronics will post 0.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Applied Optoelectronics news, insider Hung-Lun Chang sold 32,172 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $110.21, for a total value of $3,545,676.12. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 249,276 shares in the company, valued at $27,472,707.96. This represents a 11.43% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Stefan J. Murry sold 4,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, October 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $102.87, for a total transaction of $411,480.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 363,168 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $37,359,092.16. This trade represents a 1.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 52,172 shares of company stock worth $5,985,036. Company insiders own 3.80% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Matthews International Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Applied Optoelectronics in the 3rd quarter worth $8,927,000. AlphaCore Capital LLC raised its position in shares of Applied Optoelectronics by 125.6% during the 3rd quarter. AlphaCore Capital LLC now owns 4,077 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $405,000 after buying an additional 2,270 shares in the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its position in shares of Applied Optoelectronics by 24.8% during the 3rd quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 44,180 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $4,741,000 after buying an additional 8,786 shares in the last quarter. StoneX Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Applied Optoelectronics by 231.6% during the 3rd quarter. StoneX Group Inc. now owns 13,584 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $1,306,000 after buying an additional 9,488 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Pictet Asset Management Holding SA lifted its holdings in shares of Applied Optoelectronics by 4.1% in the 3rd quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 12,045 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $1,196,000 after acquiring an additional 471 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 61.70% of the company’s stock.

About Applied Optoelectronics

Applied Optoelectronics, Inc (NASDAQ: AAOI) develops and manufactures fiber-optic networking products and solutions. Its offerings include optical transceivers, transmitters, receivers, lasers, and related components used to transmit data across fiber-optic networks.

The company serves several communications markets, including data centers, broadband access networks, cable television, and telecommunications. Its products are designed for applications such as high-speed data transmission, fiber-to-the-home and other broadband deployments, network connectivity, and communications infrastructure.

Founded in 1997 and headquartered in Sugar Land, Texas, Applied Optoelectronics supports customers in multiple regions, including North America, Asia, and other international markets.