Applied Optoelectronics (NASDAQ:AAOI) Shares Gap Up on Analyst Upgrade

Applied Optoelectronics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AAOI) shares gapped up prior to trading on Friday after Rosenblatt Securities raised their price target on the stock from $20.00 to $27.50. The stock had previously closed at $17.90, but opened at $19.50. Rosenblatt Securities currently has a buy rating on the stock. Applied Optoelectronics shares last traded at $22.30, with a volume of 4,221,311 shares changing hands.

AAOI has been the topic of a number of other research reports. Raymond James lifted their price target on shares of Applied Optoelectronics from $17.00 to $23.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday. StockNews.com raised shares of Applied Optoelectronics to a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Northland Securities boosted their price objective on shares of Applied Optoelectronics from $18.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday. B. Riley Financial reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $9.00 price objective on shares of Applied Optoelectronics in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. Finally, B. Riley dropped their price target on shares of Applied Optoelectronics from $12.00 to $9.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $18.70.

Insider Transactions at Applied Optoelectronics

In other news, insider David C. Kuo sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 in the company, valued at approximately $1,996,473.42. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 5.40% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Applied Optoelectronics

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of AAOI. Shellback Capital LP bought a new position in Applied Optoelectronics during the second quarter worth about $8,617,000. Royce & Associates LP increased 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 during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in Applied Optoelectronics by 29.2% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,954,498 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $27,089,000 after buying an additional 442,277 shares during the period. Caxton Associates LP increased its holdings in Applied Optoelectronics by 550.5% in the 2nd quarter. Caxton Associates LP now owns 411,054 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $3,408,000 after buying an additional 347,867 shares during the period. Finally, Whale Rock Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Applied Optoelectronics by 30.0% in the 1st quarter. Whale Rock Capital Management LLC now owns 1,333,957 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $18,489,000 after buying an additional 308,172 shares during the period. 61.72% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Applied Optoelectronics Trading Up 55.1 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a current ratio of 1.64. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.14 billion, a P/E ratio of -14.53 and a beta of 1.96. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $15.59 and its 200 day simple moving average is $11.79.

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.