Short Interest in Applied Optoelectronics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AAOI) Rises By 12.9%

Applied Optoelectronics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AAOI) was the recipient of a significant growth in short interest in the month of January. As of January 31st, there was short interest totalling 9,550,000 shares, a growth of 12.9% from the January 15th total of 8,460,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 3,820,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.5 days.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. Northland Securities reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $40.00 price objective (up previously from $25.00) on shares of Applied Optoelectronics in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. Raymond James increased their price target on Applied Optoelectronics from $17.00 to $39.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, December 20th. B. Riley lowered Applied Optoelectronics from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and set a $14.00 price objective for the company. in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Rosenblatt Securities upped their target price on Applied Optoelectronics from $27.50 to $44.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Applied Optoelectronics to a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $29.20.

Applied Optoelectronics Stock Down 4.2 %

AAOI stock opened at $25.90 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $1.21 billion, a PE ratio of -12.57 and a beta of 2.36. Applied Optoelectronics has a 1 year low of $6.70 and a 1 year high of $44.50. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $32.08 and a 200 day simple moving average of $22.99. The company has a current ratio of 1.61, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Stefan J. Murry sold 2,298 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $35.17, for a total value of $80,820.66. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 209,831 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,379,756.27. This represents a 1.08 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Elizabeth G. Loboa sold 13,494 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $36.54, for a total value of $493,070.76. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 124,500 shares in the company, valued at $4,549,230. This trade represents a 9.78 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 93,067 shares of company stock valued at $3,243,938. Insiders own 5.40% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Applied Optoelectronics

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. XTX Topco Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Applied Optoelectronics in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $1,109,000. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in Applied Optoelectronics in the 3rd quarter valued at $1,319,000. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP bought a new stake in Applied Optoelectronics in the third quarter valued at $19,019,000. Virtu Financial LLC acquired a new position in Applied Optoelectronics during the third quarter worth $353,000. Finally, Affinity Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Applied Optoelectronics during the fourth quarter valued at $7,965,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 61.72% of the company’s stock.

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.