Applied Optoelectronics (NASDAQ:AAOI) Shares Gap Up – Should You Buy?

Applied Optoelectronics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AAOI)’s stock price gapped up prior to trading on Tuesday . The stock had previously closed at $31.03, but opened at $33.21. Applied Optoelectronics shares last traded at $32.27, with a volume of 1,226,045 shares traded.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AAOI has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. StockNews.com raised shares of Applied Optoelectronics to a “sell” rating in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. Raymond James lifted their price target on shares of Applied Optoelectronics from $17.00 to $39.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Northland Securities reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $40.00 target price (up from $25.00) on shares of Applied Optoelectronics in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. Rosenblatt Securities increased their price objective on shares of Applied Optoelectronics from $27.50 to $44.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Finally, B. Riley cut shares of Applied Optoelectronics from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and set a $14.00 price target on the stock. in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $29.20.

Applied Optoelectronics Stock Down 2.5 %

The stock has a market cap of $1.42 billion, a P/E ratio of -14.71 and a beta of 2.39. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $34.59 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $20.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a current ratio of 1.61.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director William H. Yeh sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.08, for a total transaction of $430,800.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 223,538 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,630,017.04. The trade was a 4.28 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Stefan J. Murry sold 4,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $31.72, for a total value of $126,880.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 212,129 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,728,731.88. This trade represents a 1.85 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 100,769 shares of company stock worth $3,432,417. 5.40% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Applied Optoelectronics

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Pingora Partners LLC acquired a new position in Applied Optoelectronics in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $82,000. FMR LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Applied Optoelectronics by 3,290.6% during 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 last quarter. Point72 Hong Kong Ltd bought a new stake in Applied Optoelectronics in the second quarter worth approximately $89,000. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company acquired a new position in shares of Applied Optoelectronics during the 2nd quarter worth $118,000. Finally, Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. bought a new position in shares of Applied Optoelectronics during the 3rd quarter valued at $186,000. 61.72% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.