Applied Optoelectronics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AAOI) Sees Significant Increase in Short Interest

Applied Optoelectronics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AAOI) was the recipient of a large growth in short interest during the month of January. As of January 31st, there was short interest totalling 9,550,000 shares, a growth of 12.9% from the January 15th total of 8,460,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 3,820,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.5 days.

Insider Activity at Applied Optoelectronics

In other Applied Optoelectronics news, Director Elizabeth G. Loboa sold 13,494 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $36.54, for a total value of $493,070.76. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 124,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,549,230. This represents a 9.78 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Stefan J. Murry sold 2,298 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $35.17, for a total value of $80,820.66. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 209,831 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,379,756.27. This represents a 1.08 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 93,067 shares of company stock worth $3,243,938. Insiders own 5.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Applied Optoelectronics

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP purchased a new stake in shares of Applied Optoelectronics in the 3rd quarter worth about $19,019,000. Whale Rock Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Applied Optoelectronics during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $16,145,000. Yong Rong HK Asset Management Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Applied Optoelectronics during the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,645,000. Royce & Associates LP lifted its stake 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 in the last quarter. Finally, JAT Capital Mgmt LP acquired a new stake in Applied Optoelectronics during the 3rd quarter valued at $6,470,000. 61.72% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Applied Optoelectronics Stock Down 4.2 %

AAOI stock opened at $25.90 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $1.21 billion, a P/E ratio of -12.57 and a beta of 2.36. The company has a current ratio of 1.61, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $32.08 and its 200 day moving average price is $22.99. Applied Optoelectronics has a 52 week low of $6.70 and a 52 week high of $44.50.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have commented on AAOI. Raymond James lifted their price target on 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 31st. B. Riley cut shares of Applied Optoelectronics from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and set a $14.00 price target for the company. in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Northland Securities restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $40.00 price objective (up from $25.00) on shares of Applied Optoelectronics in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. Finally, Rosenblatt Securities upped 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. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $29.20.

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.