Applied Optoelectronics (NASDAQ:AAOI) Given “Buy” Rating at Rosenblatt Securities

Rosenblatt Securities reiterated their buy rating on shares of Applied Optoelectronics (NASDAQ:AAOI) in a report released on Friday morning,Benzinga reports. Rosenblatt Securities currently has a $36.00 target price on the semiconductor company’s stock.

Other equities analysts also recently issued reports about the company. Northland Securities reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $40.00 price target (up from $25.00) on shares of Applied Optoelectronics in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. B. Riley upgraded Applied Optoelectronics from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $13.00 price target for the company in a research note on Friday, March 7th. StockNews.com upgraded Applied Optoelectronics to a “sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Finally, Raymond James upped their price objective on shares of Applied Optoelectronics to $31.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 28th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $25.80.

Applied Optoelectronics Stock Up 39.3 %

Applied Optoelectronics stock opened at $22.11 on Friday. Applied Optoelectronics has a twelve month low of $6.70 and a twelve month high of $44.50. The business has a fifty day moving average of $26.47 and a two-hundred day moving average of $24.50. The firm has a market cap of $1.10 billion, a P/E ratio of -10.73 and a beta of 2.36. The company has a quick ratio of 1.06, a current ratio of 1.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36.

Applied Optoelectronics (NASDAQ:AAOI) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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). The company had revenue of $100.27 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $99.92 million. Applied Optoelectronics had a negative net margin of 38.61% and a negative return on equity of 22.36%. On average, analysts forecast that Applied Optoelectronics will post -1.18 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Applied Optoelectronics

In other news, Director Richard B. Black sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the director now 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 filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Stefan J. Murry sold 2,298 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $35.17, for a total transaction of $80,820.66. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 209,831 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,379,756.27. This trade represents a 1.08 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 26,298 shares of company stock valued at $850,401. 5.40% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Applied Optoelectronics by 11.0% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,429,418 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $89,548,000 after purchasing an additional 241,594 shares during the last quarter. Royce & Associates LP grew its holdings in Applied Optoelectronics by 47.7% in the 3rd quarter. Royce & Associates LP now owns 1,596,545 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $22,847,000 after buying an additional 515,489 shares in the last quarter. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP acquired a new stake in shares of Applied Optoelectronics in the 3rd quarter worth $19,019,000. Whale Rock Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Applied Optoelectronics during the 3rd quarter worth $16,145,000. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Applied Optoelectronics by 7.7% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 979,769 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $36,123,000 after acquiring an additional 70,210 shares during the last quarter. 61.72% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.