Applied Optoelectronics (NASDAQ:AAOI) Trading Down 13.8% – Time to Sell?

Shares of Applied Optoelectronics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AAOI) dropped 13.8% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The company traded as low as $12.10 and last traded at $11.95. Approximately 1,796,226 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 57% from the average daily volume of 4,195,448 shares. The stock had previously closed at $13.87.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AAOI has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Northland Securities reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $40.00 price objective (up from $25.00) on shares of Applied Optoelectronics in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. Raymond James upped their price target on Applied Optoelectronics to $31.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 28th. Rosenblatt Securities restated a “buy” rating and set a $36.00 price objective on shares of Applied Optoelectronics in a research note on Friday, March 14th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Applied Optoelectronics to a “sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Finally, B. Riley upgraded shares of 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. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $25.80.

Applied Optoelectronics Stock Performance

The firm has a market cap of $583.01 million, a PE ratio of -5.68 and a beta of 2.57. The company has a quick ratio of 1.06, a current ratio of 1.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $20.70 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $25.16.

Applied Optoelectronics (NASDAQ:AAOI) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 26th. The semiconductor company reported ($0.09) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.02) by ($0.07). Applied Optoelectronics had a negative return on equity of 22.36% and a negative net margin of 38.61%. The company had revenue of $100.27 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $99.92 million. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Applied Optoelectronics, Inc. will post -1.18 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Applied Optoelectronics

In other Applied Optoelectronics news, CFO Stefan J. Murry sold 2,298 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $35.17, for a total value of $80,820.66. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 209,831 shares in the company, valued at $7,379,756.27. The trade was a 1.08 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Richard B. Black sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $29.00, for a total value of $290,000.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 157,813 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,576,577. The trade was a 5.96 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 18,298 shares of company stock worth $543,821 in the last quarter. Insiders own 4.96% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Applied Optoelectronics

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Nomura Holdings Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Applied Optoelectronics in the fourth quarter worth about $31,331,000. Yong Rong HK Asset Management Ltd purchased a new position in Applied Optoelectronics in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $27,645,000. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. bought a new stake in Applied Optoelectronics during the 4th quarter valued at $23,354,000. CloudAlpha Capital Management Limited Hong Kong purchased a new stake in shares of Applied Optoelectronics during the fourth quarter worth $13,379,000. Finally, Voloridge Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Applied Optoelectronics in the fourth quarter worth $13,035,000. 61.72% of the stock is currently owned by 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.