Applied Optoelectronics’ (AAOI) “Outperform” Rating Reaffirmed at Northland Securities

Northland Securities reiterated their outperform rating on shares of Applied Optoelectronics (NASDAQ:AAOI) in a research report sent to investors on Wednesday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have a $40.00 target price on the semiconductor company’s stock, up from their previous target price of $25.00.

AAOI has been the topic of a number of other reports. StockNews.com raised Applied Optoelectronics to a “sell” rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Rosenblatt Securities lifted their price target on shares of Applied Optoelectronics from $27.50 to $44.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. B. Riley downgraded shares of Applied Optoelectronics from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and set a $14.00 price objective for the company. in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, Raymond James lifted their target price on shares of Applied Optoelectronics from $17.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, November 8th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Applied Optoelectronics presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $26.00.

Applied Optoelectronics Stock Down 3.0 %

NASDAQ:AAOI traded down $1.03 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $32.94. The stock had a trading volume of 2,312,935 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,745,253. The stock has a market cap of $1.48 billion, a P/E ratio of -15.99 and a beta of 2.37. The business’s 50 day moving average is $27.12 and its 200 day moving average is $16.34. 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 has a fifty-two week low of $6.70 and a fifty-two week high of $44.50.

Insider Buying and Selling at Applied Optoelectronics

In other news, Director Richard B. Black sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $35.27, for a total transaction of $352,700.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 167,813 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,918,764.51. This represents a 5.62 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Min-Chu (Mike) Chen sold 9,790 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.00, for a total value of $391,600.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 165,054 shares in the company, valued at $6,602,160. This trade represents a 5.60 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 96,769 shares of company stock worth $3,165,737 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 5.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Applied Optoelectronics

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in AAOI. Virtu Financial LLC bought a new stake in Applied Optoelectronics during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $353,000. Barclays PLC lifted its stake in Applied Optoelectronics by 37.4% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 56,920 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $815,000 after acquiring an additional 15,507 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Applied Optoelectronics by 7.1% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 909,559 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $13,018,000 after acquiring an additional 60,241 shares during the last quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd acquired a new position in Applied Optoelectronics during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $340,000. Finally, XTX Topco Ltd bought a new position in shares of Applied Optoelectronics during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $1,109,000. 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.