Applied Optoelectronics (NASDAQ:AAOI) Trading Down 7.9% – Here’s What Happened

Applied Optoelectronics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AAOI)’s share price dropped 7.9% during trading on Monday . The company traded as low as $20.34 and last traded at $20.14. Approximately 1,934,504 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 46% from the average daily volume of 3,550,115 shares. The stock had previously closed at $21.86.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on AAOI. Northland Securities reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $40.00 target price (up previously from $25.00) on shares of Applied Optoelectronics in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. Rosenblatt Securities reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $44.00 price objective on shares of Applied Optoelectronics in a research note on Monday, February 24th. B. Riley downgraded shares of Applied Optoelectronics from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and set a $14.00 target price on the stock. in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Applied Optoelectronics to a “sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Finally, Raymond James increased their price target on Applied Optoelectronics to $31.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $27.60.

Applied Optoelectronics Trading Down 18.9 %

The firm has a market capitalization of $830.50 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -8.60 and a beta of 2.36. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $30.33 and its 200 day moving average price is $24.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 1.61 and a quick ratio of 1.06.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Applied Optoelectronics news, CFO Stefan J. Murry sold 2,298 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 209,831 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,379,756.27. This represents a 1.08 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director William H. Yeh sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.08, for a total value of $430,800.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 223,538 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,630,017.04. This trade represents a 4.28 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 36,298 shares of company stock worth $1,281,201. 5.40% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Applied Optoelectronics

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of AAOI. XTX Topco Ltd acquired a new position in Applied Optoelectronics in the third quarter worth about $1,109,000. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. bought a new position in Applied Optoelectronics during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $1,319,000. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP acquired a new position in shares of Applied Optoelectronics in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $19,019,000. Virtu Financial LLC bought a new stake in shares of Applied Optoelectronics in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $353,000. Finally, Affinity Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Applied Optoelectronics during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $7,965,000. Institutional investors 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.