Polymer Capital Management HK LTD Buys New Stake in Applied Optoelectronics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AAOI)

Polymer Capital Management HK LTD purchased a new position in Applied Optoelectronics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AAOI) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 29,900 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,102,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Meeder Asset Management Inc. bought a new stake in Applied Optoelectronics in the 4th quarter worth approximately $38,000. FMR LLC grew its holdings in shares of Applied Optoelectronics by 3,290.6% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 6,137 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $88,000 after purchasing an additional 5,956 shares in the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company grew its holdings in shares of Applied Optoelectronics by 3.4% in the third quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 14,667 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $210,000 after purchasing an additional 483 shares in the last quarter. Catalyst Funds Management Pty Ltd bought a new stake in Applied Optoelectronics in the fourth quarter worth $229,000. Finally, Pictet Asset Management Holding SA purchased a new stake in Applied Optoelectronics during the fourth quarter valued at $245,000. Institutional investors own 61.72% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Richard B. Black sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the director now owns 157,813 shares in the company, valued at $4,576,577. This represents a 5.96 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Stefan J. Murry sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $23.06, for a total value of $46,120.00. Following 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 sold 18,298 shares of company stock valued at $543,821 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 4.96% of the company’s stock.

Applied Optoelectronics Trading Down 15.8 %

Shares of AAOI opened at $10.80 on Friday. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $538.39 million, a P/E ratio of -5.24 and a beta of 2.57. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $22.17 and a 200 day moving average price of $25.30. Applied Optoelectronics, Inc. has a 12-month low of $6.70 and a 12-month high of $44.50.

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently weighed in on AAOI. B. Riley raised Applied Optoelectronics from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $13.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Friday, March 7th. StockNews.com upgraded Applied Optoelectronics to a “sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Northland Securities restated an “outperform” rating and set a $40.00 target price (up previously from $25.00) on shares of Applied Optoelectronics in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. Raymond James lifted their price objective on shares of Applied Optoelectronics to $31.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Finally, Rosenblatt Securities reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $36.00 target price on shares of Applied Optoelectronics in a research report on Friday, March 14th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $25.80.

Applied Optoelectronics 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.