Applied Optoelectronics (NASDAQ:AAOI) Stock Price Down 3.6% – Here’s What Happened

Shares of Applied Optoelectronics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AAOI) dropped 3.6% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as low as $15.70 and last traded at $15.85. Approximately 887,094 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 64% from the average daily volume of 2,441,104 shares. The stock had previously closed at $16.45.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have weighed in on AAOI. Rosenblatt Securities upped their price objective on shares of Applied Optoelectronics from $15.00 to $20.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 12th. B. Riley Financial reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $9.00 target price on shares of Applied Optoelectronics in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. B. Riley decreased their price objective on shares of Applied Optoelectronics from $12.00 to $9.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. Raymond James raised shares of Applied Optoelectronics from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $17.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, September 3rd. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Applied Optoelectronics to a “sell” rating in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and two have given 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 $13.75.

Applied Optoelectronics Stock Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $613.97 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -9.04 and a beta of 1.96. The company has a fifty day moving average of $11.42 and a two-hundred day moving average of $10.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a current ratio of 1.64.

Applied Optoelectronics (NASDAQ:AAOI) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The semiconductor company reported ($0.28) earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.29) by $0.01. Applied Optoelectronics had a negative return on equity of 19.82% and a negative net margin of 34.84%. The business had revenue of $43.27 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $44.14 million. During the same period last year, the firm posted ($0.31) EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Applied Optoelectronics, Inc. will post -1.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider David C. Kuo sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $15.02, for a total transaction of $150,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 132,921 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,996,473.42. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 5.40% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Applied Optoelectronics

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Nomura Holdings Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Applied Optoelectronics during the 4th quarter worth $1,501,000. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Applied Optoelectronics by 9,687.4% during the 4th quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 853,948 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $16,498,000 after purchasing an additional 845,223 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Applied Optoelectronics by 29.2% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,954,498 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $27,089,000 after purchasing an additional 442,277 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp bought a new stake in shares of Applied Optoelectronics during the 2nd quarter worth $956,000. Finally, Swiss National Bank bought a new stake in shares of Applied Optoelectronics during the 1st quarter worth $1,123,000. 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.