StockNews.com Upgrades Applied Optoelectronics (NASDAQ:AAOI) to Sell

Applied Optoelectronics (NASDAQ:AAOI) was upgraded by stock analysts at StockNews.com to a “sell” rating in a note issued to investors on Thursday.

Several other analysts have also issued reports on AAOI. Raymond James upgraded shares of Applied Optoelectronics from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $17.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Tuesday, September 3rd. B. Riley Financial reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $9.00 price target on shares of Applied Optoelectronics in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. B. Riley lowered their price objective on shares of Applied Optoelectronics from $12.00 to $9.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. Finally, Rosenblatt Securities boosted their target price on Applied Optoelectronics from $15.00 to $20.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 12th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $13.75.

Applied Optoelectronics Stock Up 3.2 %

Shares of NASDAQ AAOI opened at $13.75 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $534.99 million, a P/E ratio of -7.55 and a beta of 1.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a current ratio of 1.64 and a quick ratio of 0.97. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $10.78 and a 200-day simple moving average of $10.93. Applied Optoelectronics has a 1 year low of $6.66 and a 1 year high of $24.75.

Applied Optoelectronics (NASDAQ:AAOI) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The semiconductor company reported ($0.28) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.29) by $0.01. Applied Optoelectronics had a negative return on equity of 19.82% and a negative net margin of 34.84%. The company had revenue of $43.27 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $44.14 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned ($0.31) earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 4.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts predict that Applied Optoelectronics will post -1.08 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Applied Optoelectronics news, insider David C. Kuo sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 132,921 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,996,473.42. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Insiders own 5.40% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Applied Optoelectronics

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. CenterBook Partners LP acquired a new position in shares of Applied Optoelectronics during the fourth quarter worth about $2,311,000. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its stake in Applied Optoelectronics by 9,687.4% in the fourth quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 853,948 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $16,498,000 after acquiring an additional 845,223 shares during the last quarter. Nomura Holdings Inc. acquired a new position in Applied Optoelectronics during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,501,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets grew its holdings in Applied Optoelectronics by 245.7% during the 1st quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 49,661 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $688,000 after acquiring an additional 35,295 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hussman Strategic Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Applied Optoelectronics in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $2,620,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 61.72% of the company’s stock.

About Applied Optoelectronics

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.