Applied Optoelectronics (NASDAQ:AAOI) Trading Down 6.9% – What’s Next?

Shares of Applied Optoelectronics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AAOI) fell 6.9% during trading on Monday . The stock traded as low as $34.91 and last traded at $36.18. 2,987,151 shares were traded during mid-day trading, an increase of 10% from the average session volume of 2,710,100 shares. The stock had previously closed at $38.88.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Raymond James boosted their price target on shares of Applied Optoelectronics from $17.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, November 8th. B. Riley downgraded Applied Optoelectronics from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and set a $14.00 price target on the stock. in a research note on Tuesday. Northland Securities increased their price objective on Applied Optoelectronics from $18.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, November 8th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Applied Optoelectronics to a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Finally, Rosenblatt Securities upped their price target on shares of Applied Optoelectronics from $20.00 to $27.50 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 8th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Applied Optoelectronics currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $19.70.

Applied Optoelectronics Stock Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $1.52 billion, a PE ratio of -16.06 and a beta of 2.36. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $24.85 and a 200 day simple moving average of $15.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 1.61 and a quick ratio of 1.06.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Min-Chu (Mike) Chen sold 9,790 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.00, for a total value of $391,600.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 165,054 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,602,160. This trade represents a 5.60 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider David C. Kuo sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $15.02, for a total transaction of $150,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 132,921 shares in the company, valued at $1,996,473.42. The trade was a 7.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 86,769 shares of company stock worth $2,813,037. Insiders own 5.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Applied Optoelectronics

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank increased its position in shares of Applied Optoelectronics by 272.1% during the second quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 9,281 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $77,000 after acquiring an additional 6,787 shares during the last quarter. Pingora Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Applied Optoelectronics during the third quarter worth about $82,000. FMR LLC lifted its holdings in Applied Optoelectronics by 3,290.6% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 6,137 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $88,000 after buying an additional 5,956 shares during the last quarter. Point72 Hong Kong Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Applied Optoelectronics during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $89,000. Finally, Summit Securities Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Applied Optoelectronics in the 2nd quarter worth about $109,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 61.72% of the company’s stock.

Applied Optoelectronics Company 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.