Arizona State Retirement System Purchases 603 Shares of Applied Optoelectronics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AAOI)

Arizona State Retirement System grew its position in Applied Optoelectronics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AAOI) by 5.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 11,246 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after purchasing an additional 603 shares during the quarter. Arizona State Retirement System’s holdings in Applied Optoelectronics were worth $415,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company increased its holdings in Applied Optoelectronics by 3.4% in the third quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 14,667 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $210,000 after purchasing an additional 483 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Applied Optoelectronics by 2.9% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 108,814 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $1,557,000 after buying an additional 3,081 shares during the period. Truvestments Capital LLC increased its stake in shares of Applied Optoelectronics by 24.3% in the 3rd quarter. Truvestments Capital LLC now owns 15,862 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $227,000 after acquiring an additional 3,097 shares in the last quarter. Rhumbline Advisers lifted its position in shares of Applied Optoelectronics by 9.1% during the 4th quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 60,348 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $2,224,000 after acquiring an additional 5,035 shares during the period. Finally, Pingora Partners LLC bought a new position in Applied Optoelectronics during the third quarter worth $82,000. 61.72% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Applied Optoelectronics

In related news, CFO Stefan J. Murry sold 4,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $31.72, for a total transaction of $126,880.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 212,129 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,728,731.88. This trade represents a 1.85 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Richard B. Black sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $29.00, for a total transaction of $290,000.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 157,813 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,576,577. This represents a 5.96 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 26,298 shares of company stock worth $850,401 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 5.40% of the company’s stock.

Applied Optoelectronics Trading Up 39.3 %

Shares of Applied Optoelectronics stock opened at $22.11 on Friday. 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 stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $26.15 and a 200 day simple moving average of $24.70. Applied Optoelectronics, Inc. has a 12-month low of $6.70 and a 12-month high of $44.50. The company has a market capitalization of $1.10 billion, a P/E ratio of -10.73 and a beta of 2.36.

Applied Optoelectronics (NASDAQ:AAOI) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 26th. The semiconductor company reported ($0.09) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.02) by ($0.07). Applied Optoelectronics had a negative net margin of 38.61% and a negative return on equity of 22.36%. The firm had revenue of $100.27 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $99.92 million. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Applied Optoelectronics, Inc. will post -1.18 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Rosenblatt Securities reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $36.00 price objective on shares of Applied Optoelectronics in a report on Friday. B. Riley upgraded Applied Optoelectronics from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $13.00 price target on the stock in a report on Friday, March 7th. StockNews.com upgraded Applied Optoelectronics to a “sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Raymond James increased their target price on Applied Optoelectronics to $31.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 28th. Finally, Northland Securities restated an “outperform” rating and set a $40.00 price target (up previously from $25.00) on shares of Applied Optoelectronics in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $25.80.

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.