Applied Optoelectronics (NASDAQ:AAOI) Upgraded at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Applied Optoelectronics (NASDAQ:AAOI) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research report report published on Thursday morning.

Other research analysts have also recently issued reports about the stock. B. Riley reissued a neutral rating and set a $16.00 price objective (down from $22.00) on shares of Applied Optoelectronics in a report on Friday, February 23rd. Rosenblatt Securities dropped their price target on Applied Optoelectronics from $23.00 to $20.00 and set a buy rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 23rd. Finally, TheStreet upgraded Applied Optoelectronics from a d rating to a c- rating in a research report on Friday, February 23rd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $16.88.

Applied Optoelectronics Price Performance

Shares of AAOI opened at $11.07 on Thursday. Applied Optoelectronics has a twelve month low of $1.60 and a twelve month high of $24.75. The company has a market capitalization of $428.74 million, a P/E ratio of -6.22 and a beta of 2.12. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $13.01 and a 200 day moving average of $15.01. The company has a quick ratio of 1.16, a current ratio of 1.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38.

Applied Optoelectronics (NASDAQ:AAOI) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 22nd. The semiconductor company reported $0.04 earnings per share for the quarter. Applied Optoelectronics had a negative return on equity of 13.83% and a negative net margin of 25.75%. The firm had revenue of $60.50 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $65.19 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned ($0.27) earnings per share. The company’s revenue was down 3.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Applied Optoelectronics will post -0.2 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Applied Optoelectronics

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Applied Optoelectronics by 9,687.4% during the fourth quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 853,948 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $16,498,000 after purchasing an additional 845,223 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its holdings in Applied Optoelectronics by 875.9% during the 1st quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 631,799 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $8,757,000 after buying an additional 567,056 shares in the last quarter. CloudAlpha Capital Management Limited Hong Kong increased its stake in Applied Optoelectronics by 380.6% in the 4th quarter. CloudAlpha Capital Management Limited Hong Kong now owns 637,200 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $12,311,000 after acquiring an additional 504,610 shares during the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Applied Optoelectronics during the 4th quarter worth approximately $9,716,000. Finally, Hussman Strategic Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of Applied Optoelectronics during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $2,620,000. 61.72% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.