Intech Investment Management LLC Buys Shares of 13,854 Applied Optoelectronics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AAOI)

Intech Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Applied Optoelectronics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AAOI) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 13,854 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock, valued at approximately $511,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Catalyst Funds Management Pty Ltd acquired a new stake in Applied Optoelectronics during the 4th quarter worth approximately $229,000. Swiss National Bank raised its stake in shares of Applied Optoelectronics by 6.4% in the fourth quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 76,400 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $2,816,000 after acquiring an additional 4,600 shares in the last quarter. Truvestments Capital LLC boosted its holdings in 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 purchasing an additional 1,133 shares during the period. CloudAlpha Capital Management Limited Hong Kong acquired a new position in Applied Optoelectronics during the 4th quarter worth $13,379,000. Finally, Chung Wu Investment Group LLC purchased a new stake in Applied Optoelectronics during the 4th quarter worth about $262,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 61.72% of the company’s stock.

Applied Optoelectronics Trading Up 9.1 %

Shares of Applied Optoelectronics stock opened at $22.28 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.61, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $24.83 and a 200-day simple moving average of $25.20. The stock has a market cap of $1.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -10.82 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.

Applied Optoelectronics (NASDAQ:AAOI) last released its quarterly earnings data 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). Applied Optoelectronics had a negative net margin of 38.61% and a negative return on equity of 22.36%. The company had revenue of $100.27 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $99.92 million. On average, equities analysts forecast that Applied Optoelectronics, Inc. will post -1.18 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Insider Buying and Selling

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

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.