Swiss National Bank Grows Holdings in Applied Optoelectronics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AAOI)

Swiss National Bank boosted its position in Applied Optoelectronics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AAOI) by 6.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 76,400 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,600 shares during the period. Swiss National Bank owned about 0.16% of Applied Optoelectronics worth $2,816,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of AAOI. Truvestments Capital LLC grew its holdings in shares of Applied Optoelectronics by 7.1% in the fourth quarter. Truvestments Capital LLC now owns 16,995 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $626,000 after acquiring an additional 1,133 shares in the last quarter. CloudAlpha Capital Management Limited Hong Kong bought a new position in Applied Optoelectronics in the 4th quarter valued at $13,379,000. Chung Wu Investment Group LLC bought a new position in Applied Optoelectronics in the 4th quarter valued at $262,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Applied Optoelectronics during the 4th quarter valued at $6,556,000. Finally, Arizona State Retirement System raised its stake in shares of Applied Optoelectronics by 5.7% during the 4th quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 11,246 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $415,000 after purchasing an additional 603 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 61.72% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Applied Optoelectronics news, CFO Stefan J. Murry sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $23.06, for a total value of $46,120.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 196,581 shares in the company, valued at $4,533,157.86. This represents a 1.01 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Richard B. Black sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 157,813 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,576,577. The trade was a 5.96 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 18,298 shares of company stock worth $543,821 in the last quarter. 4.96% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Applied Optoelectronics to a “sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. B. Riley upgraded shares of Applied Optoelectronics from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $13.00 price target for the company in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Rosenblatt Securities reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $36.00 price objective on shares of Applied Optoelectronics in a research note on Friday, March 14th. Northland Securities reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $40.00 price objective (up from $25.00) on shares of Applied Optoelectronics in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. Finally, Raymond James boosted their target price on Applied Optoelectronics to $31.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 28th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $25.80.

Applied Optoelectronics Stock Performance

Shares of AAOI stock opened at $19.49 on Thursday. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $24.48 and its 200 day moving average is $25.23. The stock has a market capitalization of $971.60 million, a P/E ratio of -9.46 and a beta of 2.36. Applied Optoelectronics, Inc. has a 12 month low of $6.70 and a 12 month high of $44.50. The company has a current ratio of 1.61, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36.

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

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.