Applied Optoelectronics (NASDAQ:AAOI) Trading Up 8.8%

Applied Optoelectronics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AAOI)’s stock price was up 8.8% during trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $13.20 and last traded at $13.04. Approximately 913,585 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 68% from the average daily volume of 2,847,218 shares. The stock had previously closed at $11.99.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently commented on AAOI shares. TheStreet raised shares of Applied Optoelectronics from a “d” rating to a “c-” rating in a research note on Friday, February 23rd. B. Riley reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $16.00 price target (down from $22.00) on shares of Applied Optoelectronics in a research report on Friday, February 23rd. Finally, Rosenblatt Securities reduced their price target on Applied Optoelectronics from $23.00 to $20.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 23rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $16.88.

Applied Optoelectronics Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38, a current ratio of 1.85 and a quick ratio of 1.16. The company has a market capitalization of $447.72 million, a PE ratio of -6.55 and a beta of 2.04. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $15.03 and its 200 day simple moving average is $14.79.

Applied Optoelectronics (NASDAQ:AAOI) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 22nd. The semiconductor company reported $0.04 EPS for the quarter. Applied Optoelectronics had a negative net margin of 25.75% and a negative return on equity of 13.83%. The company had revenue of $60.50 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $65.19 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned ($0.27) earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was down 3.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts predict that Applied Optoelectronics, Inc. will post -0.2 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Chih-Hsiang (Thompson) Lin purchased 11,780 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 18th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $12.66 per share, with a total value of $149,134.80. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer now owns 1,218,160 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $15,421,905.60. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, Director Che-Wei Lin purchased 31,370 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 18th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $12.70 per share, for a total transaction of $398,399.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 220,133 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,795,689.10. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Chih-Hsiang (Thompson) Lin purchased 11,780 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 18th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $12.66 per share, with a total value of $149,134.80. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,218,160 shares in the company, valued at $15,421,905.60. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 6.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Applied Optoelectronics

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Trexquant Investment LP acquired a new stake in Applied Optoelectronics in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $1,559,000. SG Americas Securities LLC acquired a new position in shares of Applied Optoelectronics in the fourth quarter worth $9,716,000. Quadrature Capital Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Applied Optoelectronics in the third quarter worth $1,436,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. acquired a new position in shares of Applied Optoelectronics in the fourth quarter worth $1,251,000. Finally, Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Applied Optoelectronics in the third quarter worth $1,401,000. 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.