Applied Optoelectronics (NASDAQ:AAOI) Price Target Raised to $50.00

Applied Optoelectronics (NASDAQ:AAOI) had its price target upped by equities research analysts at Northland Securities to $50.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Friday, Stock Target Advisor reports. The firm currently has a “buy” rating on the semiconductor company’s stock. Northland Securities’ target price would suggest a potential upside of 223.21% from the company’s previous close.

Other analysts have also issued research reports about the stock. B. Riley upgraded shares of Applied Optoelectronics from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $13.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Applied Optoelectronics from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, June 7th. Rosenblatt Securities lifted their price target on shares of Applied Optoelectronics to $30.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 9th. Finally, Raymond James cut their price target on shares of Applied Optoelectronics from $20.00 to $18.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 9th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $24.00.

Applied Optoelectronics Stock Performance

NASDAQ AAOI opened at $15.47 on Friday. Applied Optoelectronics has a 1 year low of $6.70 and a 1 year high of $44.50. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $859.27 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -7.51 and a beta of 2.64. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $15.02 and its 200 day simple moving average is $23.28.

Applied Optoelectronics (NASDAQ:AAOI) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The semiconductor company reported ($0.02) earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.04) by $0.02. Applied Optoelectronics had a negative net margin of 38.61% and a negative return on equity of 22.36%. The firm had revenue of $99.86 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $99.37 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted ($0.31) earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 145.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect that Applied Optoelectronics will post -1.18 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Applied Optoelectronics

In related news, insider David C. Kuo sold 11,426 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $19.10, for a total transaction of $218,236.60. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 153,900 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,939,490. The trade was a 6.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO Stefan J. Murry sold 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $23.06, for a total transaction of $46,120.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 196,581 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,533,157.86. This trade represents a 1.01% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 39,263 shares of company stock valued at $740,590 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 4.50% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Rhumbline Advisers boosted its stake in Applied Optoelectronics by 9.1% in the fourth quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 60,348 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $2,224,000 after acquiring an additional 5,035 shares during the last quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund boosted its stake in Applied Optoelectronics by 131.5% in the fourth quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 12,500 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $461,000 after acquiring an additional 7,100 shares during the last quarter. Yong Rong HK Asset Management Ltd purchased a new position in Applied Optoelectronics in the fourth quarter valued at about $27,645,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its stake in Applied Optoelectronics by 25.6% in the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 125,131 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $4,612,000 after acquiring an additional 25,482 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in Applied Optoelectronics by 8.7% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 118,249 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $4,359,000 after acquiring an additional 9,435 shares during the last quarter. 61.72% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.