Insider Selling: Applied Optoelectronics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AAOI) CFO Sells 2,000 Shares of Stock

Applied Optoelectronics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AAOI) CFO Stefan J. Murry sold 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $23.06, for a total transaction of $46,120.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 196,581 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,533,157.86. This represents a 1.01 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website.

Applied Optoelectronics Price Performance

AAOI stock traded up $0.93 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $21.13. The company had a trading volume of 2,680,643 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,202,109. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -10.26 and a beta of 2.36. 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 business has a 50 day moving average of $25.64 and a 200 day moving average of $24.95. Applied Optoelectronics, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $6.70 and a fifty-two week high of $44.50.

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

Institutional Trading of Applied Optoelectronics

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of AAOI. California State Teachers Retirement System raised its position in Applied Optoelectronics by 4.4% in the fourth quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 36,471 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $1,344,000 after acquiring an additional 1,524 shares in the last quarter. GF Fund Management CO. LTD. acquired a new position in shares of Applied Optoelectronics in the 4th quarter worth approximately $5,068,000. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its holdings in shares of Applied Optoelectronics by 17.4% in the 4th quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 78,959 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $2,910,000 after purchasing an additional 11,684 shares in the last quarter. Voloridge Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in Applied Optoelectronics during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $13,035,000. Finally, Two Sigma Advisers LP boosted its holdings in Applied Optoelectronics by 265.8% during the fourth quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 57,800 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $2,131,000 after buying an additional 42,000 shares in 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.