Insider Selling: Applied Optoelectronics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AAOI) Director Sells 10,000 Shares of Stock

Applied Optoelectronics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AAOI) Director Richard B. Black sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $35.27, for a total transaction of $352,700.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 167,813 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,918,764.51. This represents a 5.62 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website.

Applied Optoelectronics Price Performance

NASDAQ AAOI traded up $1.84 on Wednesday, reaching $33.95. 4,678,030 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,743,906. The stock has a market cap of $1.53 billion, a PE ratio of -16.48 and a beta of 2.37. Applied Optoelectronics, Inc. has a 12 month low of $6.70 and a 12 month high of $44.50. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $26.76 and a 200 day simple moving average of $16.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 1.61 and a quick ratio of 1.06.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Applied Optoelectronics

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Bank of New York Mellon Corp bought a new position in shares of Applied Optoelectronics during the second quarter valued at about $956,000. Summit Securities Group LLC bought a new position in Applied Optoelectronics during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $109,000. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank increased its stake in Applied Optoelectronics by 272.1% in the 2nd quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 9,281 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $77,000 after purchasing an additional 6,787 shares during the period. Rhumbline Advisers bought a new stake in Applied Optoelectronics in the second quarter valued at approximately $449,000. Finally, Acuitas Investments LLC boosted its stake in shares of Applied Optoelectronics by 38.4% during the second quarter. Acuitas Investments LLC now owns 331,221 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $2,746,000 after purchasing an additional 91,885 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 61.72% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently commented on AAOI. Rosenblatt Securities boosted their price target on shares of Applied Optoelectronics from $27.50 to $44.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. StockNews.com raised Applied Optoelectronics to a “sell” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. B. Riley cut shares of Applied Optoelectronics from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and set a $14.00 price objective on the stock. in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Raymond James lifted their target price on shares of Applied Optoelectronics from $17.00 to $23.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, November 8th. Finally, Northland Securities restated an “outperform” rating and set a $40.00 price objective (up previously from $25.00) on shares of Applied Optoelectronics in a research report on Wednesday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $26.00.

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.