Applied Optoelectronics (NASDAQ:AAOI) Raised to Hold at 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 report issued to clients and investors on Saturday.

AAOI has been the subject of several other reports. Raymond James Financial dropped their target price on Applied Optoelectronics from $20.00 to $18.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 9th. Northland Securities upped their target price on Applied Optoelectronics to $50.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, June 13th. B. Riley upgraded Applied Optoelectronics from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $13.00 target price for the company in a report on Friday, March 7th. Finally, Rosenblatt Securities upped their target price on Applied Optoelectronics to $30.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 9th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $24.00.

Applied Optoelectronics Stock Up 18.6%

Shares of NASDAQ:AAOI opened at $23.45 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.34, a current ratio of 1.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47. The business has a fifty day moving average of $15.73 and a two-hundred day moving average of $22.68. The stock has a market cap of $1.30 billion, a P/E ratio of -6.08 and a beta of 2.64. Applied Optoelectronics has a 52-week low of $6.70 and a 52-week high of $44.50.

Applied Optoelectronics (NASDAQ:AAOI) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The semiconductor company reported ($0.02) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.04) by $0.02. The company had revenue of $99.86 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $99.37 million. Applied Optoelectronics had a negative return on equity of 15.40% and a negative net margin of 55.98%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 145.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned ($0.31) EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Applied Optoelectronics will post -1.18 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Hung-Lun (Fred) Chang sold 23,837 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $19.06, for a total value of $454,333.22. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 278,842 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,314,728.52. This represents a 7.88% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Chih-Hsiang (Thompson) Lin bought 21,200 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 13th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $18.22 per share, for a total transaction of $386,264.00. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer now owns 1,659,025 shares in the company, valued at $30,227,435.50. This represents a 1.29% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 39,263 shares of company stock valued at $726,570 in the last quarter. Insiders own 4.50% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Applied Optoelectronics

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in Applied Optoelectronics by 11.0% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,429,418 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $89,548,000 after acquiring an additional 241,594 shares in the last quarter. Emerald Advisers LLC lifted its stake in Applied Optoelectronics by 15.3% during the 4th quarter. Emerald Advisers LLC now owns 606,997 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $22,374,000 after acquiring an additional 80,539 shares in the last quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Applied Optoelectronics during the 4th quarter worth about $511,000. Polymer Capital Management HK LTD acquired a new position in Applied Optoelectronics during the 4th quarter worth about $1,102,000. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in Applied Optoelectronics during the 4th quarter worth about $6,556,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.