Applied Optoelectronics (NASDAQ:AAOI) Shares Gap Up – Time to Buy?

Shares of Applied Optoelectronics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AAOI) gapped up before the market opened on Monday . The stock had previously closed at $27.04, but opened at $27.82. Applied Optoelectronics shares last traded at $28.24, with a volume of 2,465,798 shares changing hands.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on AAOI. B. Riley cut shares of Applied Optoelectronics from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and set a $14.00 price target on the stock. in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Raymond James boosted their target price 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 reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $44.00 price target on shares of Applied Optoelectronics in a report on Monday. StockNews.com raised shares of Applied Optoelectronics to a “sell” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Northland Securities reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $40.00 target price (up from $25.00) on shares of Applied Optoelectronics in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Applied Optoelectronics has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $29.20.

Applied Optoelectronics Trading Up 11.2 %

The stock has a fifty day moving average of $30.99 and a 200 day moving average of $23.91. 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 company has a market capitalization of $1.22 billion, a P/E ratio of -12.39 and a beta of 2.36.

Insider Buying and Selling

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 directly 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Min-Chu (Mike) Chen sold 9,790 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.00, for a total transaction of $391,600.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 165,054 shares in the company, valued at $6,602,160. The trade was a 5.60 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 46,088 shares of company stock valued at $1,672,801. 5.40% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Applied Optoelectronics

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in Applied Optoelectronics by 11.0% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,429,418 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $89,548,000 after purchasing an additional 241,594 shares during the period. Royce & Associates LP raised its holdings in shares of Applied Optoelectronics by 47.7% during the 3rd quarter. Royce & Associates LP now owns 1,596,545 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $22,847,000 after acquiring an additional 515,489 shares in the last quarter. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP purchased a new stake in shares of Applied Optoelectronics in the third quarter valued at $19,019,000. Whale Rock Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Applied Optoelectronics during the 3rd quarter valued at about $16,145,000. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Applied Optoelectronics by 7.7% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 979,769 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $36,123,000 after purchasing an additional 70,210 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 61.72% of the company’s stock.

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.