Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Buys New Stake in Applied Optoelectronics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AAOI)

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. purchased a new stake in Applied Optoelectronics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AAOI) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 345,392 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,731,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. owned about 0.74% of Applied Optoelectronics at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Pingora Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Applied Optoelectronics during the third quarter worth about $82,000. FMR LLC grew its stake 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 acquired a new position in Applied Optoelectronics during the second quarter worth approximately $89,000. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company purchased a new stake in Applied Optoelectronics in the second quarter valued at approximately $118,000. Finally, Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Applied Optoelectronics in the third quarter valued at approximately $186,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 61.72% of the company’s stock.

Applied Optoelectronics Stock Up 0.5 %

AAOI stock opened at $31.03 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.45 billion, a PE ratio of -15.06 and a beta of 2.39. The company has a fifty day moving average of $34.54 and a 200-day moving average of $20.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a current ratio of 1.61. Applied Optoelectronics, Inc. has a one year low of $6.70 and a one year high of $44.50.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AAOI has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Rosenblatt Securities lifted their target price on shares of Applied Optoelectronics from $27.50 to $44.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. Raymond James raised their price objective on shares of Applied Optoelectronics from $17.00 to $39.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, December 20th. StockNews.com raised shares of Applied Optoelectronics to a “sell” rating in a report on Friday, January 3rd. Northland Securities reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $40.00 price target (up previously from $25.00) on shares of Applied Optoelectronics in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. Finally, B. Riley downgraded Applied Optoelectronics from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and set a $14.00 price objective for the company. in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $29.20.

Insider Buying and Selling at Applied Optoelectronics

In other Applied Optoelectronics news, insider Hung-Lun (Fred) Chang sold 20,323 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $30.35, for a total value of $616,803.05. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 195,572 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,935,610.20. This represents a 9.41 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO Stefan J. Murry sold 4,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $31.72, for a total value of $126,880.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 212,129 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,728,731.88. This trade represents a 1.85 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 100,769 shares of company stock valued at $3,432,417. 5.40% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Applied Optoelectronics 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.