Applied Optoelectronics (NASDAQ:AAOI) Shares Gap Up – What’s Next?

Applied Optoelectronics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AAOI)’s share price gapped up prior to trading on Friday . The stock had previously closed at $34.48, but opened at $37.45. Applied Optoelectronics shares last traded at $37.95, with a volume of 1,345,511 shares.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AAOI has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Northland Securities boosted their target price on shares of Applied Optoelectronics from $18.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, November 8th. Rosenblatt Securities upped their price objective on shares of Applied Optoelectronics from $20.00 to $27.50 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 8th. Raymond James upped their price objective on shares of Applied Optoelectronics from $17.00 to $23.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, November 8th. B. Riley Financial restated a “neutral” rating and set a $9.00 price objective on shares of Applied Optoelectronics in a report on Thursday, August 8th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Applied Optoelectronics to a “sell” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $18.70.

Applied Optoelectronics Stock Performance

The firm has a 50 day moving average of $23.51 and a two-hundred day moving average of $14.89. The stock has a market cap of $1.82 billion, a PE ratio of -18.42 and a beta of 2.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 1.61 and a quick ratio of 1.06.

Insider Activity at Applied Optoelectronics

In other 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 value of $616,803.05. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 195,572 shares in the company, valued at $5,935,610.20. This represents a 9.41 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director William H. Yeh sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.08, for a total value of $430,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 223,538 shares in the company, valued at $9,630,017.04. This represents a 4.28 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 86,769 shares of company stock worth $2,813,037 over the last three months. 5.40% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Applied Optoelectronics

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Pingora Partners LLC acquired a new position in Applied Optoelectronics in the third quarter valued at $82,000. FMR LLC increased its stake in Applied Optoelectronics by 3,290.6% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 6,137 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $88,000 after acquiring an additional 5,956 shares during the last quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank increased its stake in Applied Optoelectronics by 272.1% during the second quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 9,281 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $77,000 after acquiring an additional 6,787 shares during the last quarter. Point72 Hong Kong Ltd acquired a new stake in Applied Optoelectronics during the second quarter worth about $89,000. Finally, Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. acquired a new stake in Applied Optoelectronics during the third quarter worth about $186,000. 61.72% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.