Applied Optoelectronics (NASDAQ:AAOI) Shares Gap Up – Time to Buy?

Applied Optoelectronics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AAOI) shares gapped up before the market opened on Wednesday . The stock had previously closed at $32.11, but opened at $33.06. Applied Optoelectronics shares last traded at $34.19, with a volume of 736,653 shares.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have issued reports on AAOI shares. Raymond James boosted their price target on shares of Applied Optoelectronics from $17.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, November 8th. StockNews.com upgraded Applied Optoelectronics to a “sell” rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Northland Securities restated 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. Rosenblatt Securities lifted their price target on shares of Applied Optoelectronics from $27.50 to $44.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Finally, B. Riley downgraded 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. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $26.00.

Applied Optoelectronics Stock Up 17.2 %

The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $26.76 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $16.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a current ratio of 1.61. The firm has a market cap of $1.70 billion, a PE ratio of -16.69 and a beta of 2.37.

Insider Buying and Selling at Applied Optoelectronics

In other Applied Optoelectronics news, insider David C. Kuo sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $26.93, for a total transaction of $269,300.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 118,122 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,181,025.46. This trade represents a 7.81 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Hung-Lun (Fred) Chang sold 20,323 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $30.35, for a total transaction of $616,803.05. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 195,572 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,935,610.20. The trade was a 9.41 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 86,769 shares of company stock worth $2,813,037 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 5.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of AAOI. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank boosted its holdings 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 valued at $77,000 after purchasing an additional 6,787 shares in the last quarter. Pingora Partners LLC acquired a new position in Applied Optoelectronics during the third quarter worth $82,000. FMR LLC raised its position in Applied Optoelectronics by 3,290.6% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 6,137 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $88,000 after acquiring an additional 5,956 shares in the last quarter. Point72 Hong Kong Ltd acquired a new stake in Applied Optoelectronics in the second quarter valued at $89,000. Finally, Summit Securities Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Applied Optoelectronics during the 2nd quarter worth $109,000. 61.72% of the stock is currently 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.