Applied Optoelectronics Target of Unusually High Options Trading (NASDAQ:AAOI)

Applied Optoelectronics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AAOI) was the recipient of unusually large options trading activity on Friday. Traders acquired 8,922 put options on the company. This is an increase of approximately 70% compared to the average volume of 5,246 put options.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Hung-Lun (Fred) Chang sold 20,323 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $30.35, for a total transaction of $616,803.05. Following the completion of the sale, 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 sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Richard B. Black sold 8,162 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $37.18, for a total value of $303,463.16. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 66,979 shares of company stock valued at $1,990,637. 5.40% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Virtu Financial LLC purchased a new stake in Applied Optoelectronics during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $353,000. Barclays PLC grew its stake in Applied Optoelectronics by 37.4% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 56,920 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $815,000 after acquiring an additional 15,507 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Applied Optoelectronics by 7.1% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 909,559 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $13,018,000 after purchasing an additional 60,241 shares during the last quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd purchased a new position in Applied Optoelectronics in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $340,000. Finally, XTX Topco Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Applied Optoelectronics during the 3rd quarter valued at about $1,109,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 61.72% of the company’s stock.

Applied Optoelectronics Price Performance

AAOI stock opened at $41.22 on Friday. Applied Optoelectronics has a 12 month low of $6.70 and a 12 month high of $43.05. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $20.95 and a 200 day moving average price of $13.87. The stock has a market cap of $1.86 billion, a PE ratio of -20.01 and a beta of 1.96. The company has a current ratio of 1.61, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently commented on the stock. Rosenblatt Securities upped their price target on shares of Applied Optoelectronics from $20.00 to $27.50 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 8th. StockNews.com raised shares of Applied Optoelectronics to a “sell” rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. B. Riley dropped their target price on Applied Optoelectronics from $12.00 to $9.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. Raymond James raised their price objective on Applied Optoelectronics from $17.00 to $23.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, November 8th. Finally, Northland Securities increased their price target on shares of Applied Optoelectronics from $18.00 to $25.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, November 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $18.70.

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.