Applied Optoelectronics (NASDAQ:AAOI) Upgraded by StockNews.com to “Sell” Rating

Applied Optoelectronics (NASDAQ:AAOI) was upgraded by stock analysts at StockNews.com to a “sell” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Friday.

AAOI has been the subject of a number of other reports. Raymond James lifted their price objective on Applied Optoelectronics from $17.00 to $39.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Rosenblatt Securities lifted their price target on shares of Applied Optoelectronics from $27.50 to $44.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Northland Securities restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $40.00 price objective (up from $25.00) on shares of Applied Optoelectronics in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. Finally, B. Riley lowered shares of Applied Optoelectronics from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and set a $14.00 target price for the company. in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. 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 company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $29.20.

Applied Optoelectronics Stock Up 6.5 %

NASDAQ AAOI opened at $37.90 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.78 billion, a P/E ratio of -18.40 and a beta of 2.39. Applied Optoelectronics has a 52 week low of $6.70 and a 52 week high of $44.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a current ratio of 1.61. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $31.79 and a 200-day moving average of $18.62.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Stefan J. Murry sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $31.56, for a total value of $157,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 216,129 shares in the company, valued at $6,821,031.24. This represents a 2.26 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider David C. Kuo sold 10,000 shares of Applied Optoelectronics stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $26.93, for a total value of $269,300.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 118,122 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,181,025.46. This represents a 7.81 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 86,769 shares of company stock valued at $3,015,537 in the last 90 days. 5.40% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Applied Optoelectronics

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP acquired a new position in shares of Applied Optoelectronics in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $19,019,000. Whale Rock Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Applied Optoelectronics during the third quarter worth $16,145,000. Shellback Capital LP acquired a new stake in shares of Applied Optoelectronics during the second quarter worth $8,617,000. Royce & Associates LP lifted its holdings in shares of Applied Optoelectronics by 47.7% in the third quarter. Royce & Associates LP now owns 1,596,545 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $22,847,000 after purchasing an additional 515,489 shares in the last quarter. Finally, JAT Capital Mgmt LP acquired a new position in Applied Optoelectronics during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $6,470,000. 61.72% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.