Applied Optoelectronics (NASDAQ:AAOI) Hits New 12-Month High – Here’s Why

Applied Optoelectronics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AAOI) shares hit a new 52-week high during trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $49.13 and last traded at $47.91, with a volume of 5953298 shares. The stock had previously closed at $44.30.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Northland Securities set a $45.00 target price on Applied Optoelectronics in a research report on Thursday, December 11th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Applied Optoelectronics in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. Needham & Company LLC upped their target price on shares of Applied Optoelectronics from $38.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 11th. Rosenblatt Securities reissued a “buy” rating and set a $50.00 price target on shares of Applied Optoelectronics in a research report on Friday, December 19th. Finally, B. Riley Financial restated a “sell” rating and set a $15.00 price target on shares of Applied Optoelectronics in a report on Monday, November 10th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $35.60.

Applied Optoelectronics Stock Up 8.1%

The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $35.97 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $29.90. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.27 billion, a P/E ratio of -14.88 and a beta of 3.32. The company has a current ratio of 2.31, a quick ratio of 1.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23.

Insider Buying and Selling at Applied Optoelectronics

In other Applied Optoelectronics news, insider David C. Kuo sold 12,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.15, for a total transaction of $501,875.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 130,948 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,257,562.20. This represents a 8.71% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Stefan J. Murry sold 3,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, January 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $33.75, for a total value of $101,250.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 283,971 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,584,021.25. The trade was a 1.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 28,500 shares of company stock valued at $1,178,726. 4.50% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Applied Optoelectronics

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of AAOI. Allworth Financial LP raised its position in shares of Applied Optoelectronics by 1,923.7% in the fourth quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 769 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 731 shares during the period. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC grew its stake in Applied Optoelectronics by 497.5% in the 2nd quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 962 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 801 shares in the last quarter. Comerica Bank bought a new stake in Applied Optoelectronics during the 3rd quarter valued at $28,000. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Applied Optoelectronics during the fourth quarter worth $55,000. Finally, Pinpoint Asset Management Singapore Pte. Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Applied Optoelectronics during the second quarter worth $49,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 61.70% of the company’s stock.

Applied Optoelectronics Company Profile

Applied Optoelectronics, Inc develops and manufactures high-speed fiber-optic networking products designed to support the growing bandwidth demands of data centers, telecommunications carriers and internet content providers. The company’s core offerings include pluggable optical transceiver modules, transponders and optical components that enable data transmission at rates ranging from 1G to 400G. These products are used to facilitate long-haul, metro and intra-data center connectivity, addressing the need for scalable, low-latency and energy-efficient solutions in modern network infrastructures.

The company’s product portfolio spans small-form factor pluggable modules such as SFP+, QSFP+ and QSFP28 units, as well as more advanced form factors like CFP2 and OSFP for ultra-high-speed applications.