Applied Optoelectronics (NASDAQ:AAOI) Shares Gap Down – Here’s Why

Shares of Applied Optoelectronics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AAOI) gapped down prior to trading on Tuesday . The stock had previously closed at $18.51, but opened at $18.10. Applied Optoelectronics shares last traded at $17.74, with a volume of 544,943 shares traded.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently commented on the company. B. Riley reduced their target price on Applied Optoelectronics from $12.00 to $9.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. Raymond James upgraded shares of Applied Optoelectronics from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $17.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, September 3rd. B. Riley Financial reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $9.00 target price on shares of Applied Optoelectronics in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. StockNews.com raised shares of Applied Optoelectronics to a “sell” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, Rosenblatt Securities reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $20.00 price objective on shares of Applied Optoelectronics in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Applied Optoelectronics currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $13.75.

Applied Optoelectronics Price Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $661.83 million, a PE ratio of -9.35 and a beta of 1.96. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $13.61 and its 200 day simple moving average is $11.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a current ratio of 1.64 and a quick ratio of 0.97.

Applied Optoelectronics (NASDAQ:AAOI) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 6th. The semiconductor company reported ($0.28) earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.29) by $0.01. Applied Optoelectronics had a negative return on equity of 19.82% and a negative net margin of 34.84%. The firm had revenue of $43.27 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $44.14 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted ($0.31) earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 4.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Applied Optoelectronics, Inc. will post -1.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Applied Optoelectronics

In other news, insider David C. Kuo sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $15.02, for a total transaction of $150,200.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 132,921 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,996,473.42. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 5.40% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Applied Optoelectronics

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of AAOI. Shellback Capital LP purchased a new stake in Applied Optoelectronics in the second quarter worth about $8,617,000. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its position in Applied Optoelectronics by 9,687.4% during the fourth quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 853,948 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $16,498,000 after buying an additional 845,223 shares during the period. 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 valued at $27,089,000 after buying an additional 442,277 shares in the last quarter. Caxton Associates LP grew its position in shares of Applied Optoelectronics by 550.5% in the 2nd quarter. Caxton Associates LP now owns 411,054 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $3,408,000 after buying an additional 347,867 shares during the period. Finally, Whale Rock Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Applied Optoelectronics by 30.0% in the 1st quarter. Whale Rock Capital Management LLC now owns 1,333,957 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $18,489,000 after acquiring an additional 308,172 shares in the last quarter. 61.72% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.