Applied Optoelectronics (NASDAQ:AAOI) Shares Gap Up – Time to Buy?

Shares of Applied Optoelectronics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AAOI) gapped up before the market opened on Friday . The stock had previously closed at $34.48, but opened at $37.45. Applied Optoelectronics shares last traded at $37.95, with a volume of 1,345,511 shares traded.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently commented on AAOI. Northland Securities boosted their price objective on shares of Applied Optoelectronics from $18.00 to $25.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, November 8th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Applied Optoelectronics to a “sell” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. Raymond James increased their price objective on Applied Optoelectronics from $17.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, November 8th. Finally, Rosenblatt Securities boosted their target price on Applied Optoelectronics from $20.00 to $27.50 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Applied Optoelectronics presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $18.70.

Applied Optoelectronics Stock Up 12.8 %

The firm has a market cap of $1.75 billion, a P/E ratio of -18.87 and a beta of 2.37. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $24.02 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $15.10. The company has a current ratio of 1.61, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36.

Insider Activity at Applied Optoelectronics

In other Applied Optoelectronics news, insider Hung-Lun (Fred) Chang sold 20,323 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $30.35, for a total transaction of $616,803.05. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 195,572 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,935,610.20. The trade was a 9.41 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Stefan J. Murry sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $31.56, for a total value of $157,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 216,129 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,821,031.24. This represents a 2.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 86,769 shares of company stock valued at $2,813,037. Corporate insiders own 5.40% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Applied Optoelectronics

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in Applied Optoelectronics by 29.2% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,954,498 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $27,089,000 after purchasing an additional 442,277 shares during the last quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System bought a new stake in shares of Applied Optoelectronics in the first quarter valued at about $511,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new stake in Applied Optoelectronics during the second quarter worth about $956,000. Summit Securities Group LLC bought a new position in Applied Optoelectronics during the second quarter valued at about $109,000. Finally, Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank raised its holdings in Applied Optoelectronics by 272.1% in the 2nd quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 9,281 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $77,000 after acquiring an additional 6,787 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.