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

Applied Optoelectronics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AAOI) gapped up prior to trading on Friday . The stock had previously closed at $15.87, but opened at $23.65. Applied Optoelectronics shares last traded at $21.59, with a volume of 7,994,827 shares changing hands.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently commented on AAOI. B. Riley raised Applied Optoelectronics from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $13.00 target price for the company in a report on Friday, March 7th. Northland Securities reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $40.00 price target (up from $25.00) on shares of Applied Optoelectronics in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. Rosenblatt Securities restated a “buy” rating and set a $36.00 price objective on shares of Applied Optoelectronics in a research report on Friday. StockNews.com upgraded Applied Optoelectronics to a “sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Finally, Raymond James raised their price target on shares of Applied Optoelectronics to $31.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 28th. 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 MarketBeat.com, Applied Optoelectronics currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $25.80.

Applied Optoelectronics Price Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $1.09 billion, a PE ratio of -10.63 and a beta of 2.36. 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 50 day moving average price of $26.47 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $24.50.

Applied Optoelectronics (NASDAQ:AAOI) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 26th. The semiconductor company reported ($0.09) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.02) by ($0.07). The business had revenue of $100.27 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $99.92 million. Applied Optoelectronics had a negative net margin of 38.61% and a negative return on equity of 22.36%. Equities analysts forecast that Applied Optoelectronics, Inc. will post -1.18 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Stefan J. Murry sold 2,298 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 21st. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at approximately $7,379,756.27. The trade was a 1.08 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Richard B. Black sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $29.00, for a total value of $290,000.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 157,813 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,576,577. This trade represents a 5.96 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 26,298 shares of company stock worth $850,401. Corporate insiders own 5.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of AAOI. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Applied Optoelectronics by 11.0% in the fourth 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 last quarter. Royce & Associates LP grew its holdings in Applied Optoelectronics by 47.7% in the 3rd quarter. Royce & Associates LP now owns 1,596,545 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $22,847,000 after buying an additional 515,489 shares during the last quarter. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP bought a new position in Applied Optoelectronics in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $19,019,000. Whale Rock Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Applied Optoelectronics in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $16,145,000. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Applied Optoelectronics by 7.7% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 979,769 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $36,123,000 after buying an additional 70,210 shares during the last quarter. 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.