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

Northland Securities reissued their outperform rating on shares of Applied Optoelectronics (NASDAQ:AAOI) in a report released on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. Northland Securities currently has a $40.00 price target on the semiconductor company’s stock, up from their prior price target of $25.00.

A number of other equities analysts have also recently weighed in on AAOI. Rosenblatt Securities increased their price objective on shares of Applied Optoelectronics from $27.50 to $44.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Raymond James raised their price target on Applied Optoelectronics from $17.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, November 8th. B. Riley downgraded Applied Optoelectronics from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and set a $14.00 price objective on the stock. in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Applied Optoelectronics to a “sell” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $29.20.

Applied Optoelectronics Stock Up 16.8 %

NASDAQ AAOI opened at $37.82 on Wednesday. Applied Optoelectronics has a one year low of $6.70 and a one year high of $44.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a current ratio of 1.61. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $27.43 and a 200 day moving average price of $16.45. The company has a market cap of $1.70 billion, a P/E ratio of -18.36 and a beta of 2.37.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider David C. Kuo sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 directly owns 132,921 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,996,473.42. The trade was a 7.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Stefan J. Murry sold 5,000 shares of Applied Optoelectronics 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 transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 216,129 shares in the company, valued at $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. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 96,769 shares of company stock valued at $3,165,737. 5.40% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Applied Optoelectronics

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank raised its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 6,787 shares in the last quarter. Pingora Partners LLC bought a new stake in Applied Optoelectronics in the third quarter valued at about $82,000. FMR LLC lifted its holdings in Applied Optoelectronics by 3,290.6% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 6,137 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $88,000 after buying an additional 5,956 shares during the last quarter. Point72 Hong Kong Ltd bought a new position in Applied Optoelectronics during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $89,000. Finally, Summit Securities Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Applied Optoelectronics in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $109,000. 61.72% of the stock is 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.