Applied Optoelectronics (NASDAQ:AAOI) Trading Down 5% – Here’s What Happened

Applied Optoelectronics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AAOI) shares traded down 5% on Wednesday . The company traded as low as $26.45 and last traded at $26.46. 534,126 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 81% from the average session volume of 2,855,604 shares. The stock had previously closed at $27.85.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have commented on the stock. Raymond James increased their price objective on shares of Applied Optoelectronics from $17.00 to $39.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, December 20th. Northland Securities reiterated 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, December 18th. Rosenblatt Securities upped their target price on Applied Optoelectronics from $27.50 to $44.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. B. Riley downgraded Applied Optoelectronics from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and set a $14.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Applied Optoelectronics to a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $29.20.

Applied Optoelectronics Stock Performance

The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $32.87 and a 200-day simple moving average of $22.62. The company has a market cap of $1.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -13.04 and a beta of 2.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 1.61 and a quick ratio of 1.06.

Insider Activity at Applied Optoelectronics

In other news, CFO Stefan J. Murry sold 2,298 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $35.17, for a total transaction of $80,820.66. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 209,831 shares in the company, valued at $7,379,756.27. This trade represents a 1.08 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Hung-Lun (Fred) Chang sold 20,323 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $30.35, for a total value of $616,803.05. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 195,572 shares in the company, valued at $5,935,610.20. This represents a 9.41 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 93,067 shares of company stock worth $3,243,938. Company insiders own 5.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. XTX Topco Ltd purchased a new stake in Applied Optoelectronics during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $1,109,000. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Applied Optoelectronics during the third quarter worth $1,319,000. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP acquired a new stake in shares of Applied Optoelectronics in the third quarter valued at $19,019,000. Virtu Financial LLC purchased a new position in Applied Optoelectronics in the third quarter valued at $353,000. Finally, Affinity Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Applied Optoelectronics during the 4th quarter worth $7,965,000. Hedge funds and other 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.