Applied Optoelectronics Target of Unusually Large Options Trading (NASDAQ:AAOI)

Applied Optoelectronics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AAOI) saw some unusual options trading on Thursday. Stock traders bought 11,569 call options on the company. This represents an increase of 62% compared to the typical volume of 7,148 call options.

Applied Optoelectronics Price Performance

Applied Optoelectronics stock opened at $24.04 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.61, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $30.65 and a 200 day moving average price of $23.92. Applied Optoelectronics has a 12-month low of $6.70 and a 12-month high of $44.50. The stock has a market cap of $1.13 billion, a P/E ratio of -11.67 and a beta of 2.36.

Applied Optoelectronics (NASDAQ:AAOI) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 26th. The semiconductor company reported ($0.09) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.02) by ($0.07). The business had revenue of $100.27 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $99.92 million. Applied Optoelectronics had a negative net margin of 38.61% and a negative return on equity of 22.36%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Applied Optoelectronics will post -1.18 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Applied Optoelectronics

In other news, Director William H. Yeh sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.08, for a total transaction of $430,800.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 223,538 shares in the company, valued at $9,630,017.04. This represents a 4.28 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Stefan J. Murry sold 2,298 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $35.17, for a total transaction of $80,820.66. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 209,831 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,379,756.27. The trade was a 1.08 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 36,298 shares of company stock worth $1,281,201. 5.40% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Applied Optoelectronics

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Meeder Asset Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Applied Optoelectronics during the 4th quarter worth approximately $38,000. Sterling Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Applied Optoelectronics by 858.2% during the fourth quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 1,284 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $47,000 after purchasing an additional 1,150 shares in the last quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board purchased a new position in shares of Applied Optoelectronics during the fourth quarter worth $63,000. Pingora Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Applied Optoelectronics in the third quarter valued at $82,000. Finally, FMR LLC raised its holdings in shares of Applied Optoelectronics by 3,290.6% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 6,137 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $88,000 after buying an additional 5,956 shares during the period. 61.72% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently commented on AAOI. Northland Securities reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $40.00 target price (up previously from $25.00) on shares of Applied Optoelectronics in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. B. Riley lowered shares of 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 reissued a “buy” rating and set a $44.00 target price on shares of Applied Optoelectronics in a report on Monday. StockNews.com raised shares of Applied Optoelectronics to a “sell” rating in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Raymond James lifted their price objective on Applied Optoelectronics from $17.00 to $39.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Applied Optoelectronics currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $29.20.

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.