1,329,093 Shares in Applied Optoelectronics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AAOI) Purchased by Westfield Capital Management Co. LP

Westfield Capital Management Co. LP acquired a new stake in Applied Optoelectronics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AAOI) in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund acquired 1,329,093 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock, valued at approximately $19,019,000.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of AAOI. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Applied Optoelectronics by 29.2% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,954,498 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $27,089,000 after purchasing an additional 442,277 shares during the last quarter. 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 during the period. Shellback Capital LP acquired a new position in shares of Applied Optoelectronics during the 2nd quarter valued at about $8,617,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in Applied Optoelectronics by 4.1% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 616,701 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $5,113,000 after purchasing an additional 24,259 shares during the period. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP grew its stake in shares of Applied Optoelectronics by 51.1% in the 2nd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 541,787 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $4,491,000 after buying an additional 183,260 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 61.72% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently weighed in on AAOI shares. Raymond James increased their price objective on Applied Optoelectronics from $17.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, November 8th. B. Riley Financial reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $9.00 target price on shares of Applied Optoelectronics in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. Rosenblatt Securities increased their target price on shares of Applied Optoelectronics from $20.00 to $27.50 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 8th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Applied Optoelectronics to a “sell” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. Finally, Northland Securities lifted their target price on shares of Applied Optoelectronics from $18.00 to $25.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, November 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $18.70.

Applied Optoelectronics Price Performance

Shares of AAOI opened at $37.99 on Monday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $19.08 and its 200 day moving average price is $13.17. The company has a market cap of $1.71 billion, a P/E ratio of -18.44 and a beta of 1.96. The company has a quick ratio of 1.06, a current ratio of 1.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. Applied Optoelectronics, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $6.70 and a fifty-two week high of $38.94.

Insider Activity at Applied Optoelectronics

In related news, Director Elizabeth G. Loboa sold 13,494 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $36.54, for a total value of $493,070.76. Following the sale, the director now owns 124,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,549,230. This trade represents a 9.78 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Hung-Lun (Fred) Chang sold 20,323 shares of Applied Optoelectronics stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $30.35, for a total transaction of $616,803.05. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 195,572 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,935,610.20. This represents a 9.41 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 58,817 shares of company stock worth $1,687,174. Company insiders own 5.40% of the company’s stock.

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.