Applied Optoelectronics (AAOI) vs. Its Peers Head to Head Contrast

Applied Optoelectronics (NASDAQ:AAOI) is one of 110 publicly-traded companies in the “Communications Equipment” industry, but how does it contrast to its competitors? We will compare Applied Optoelectronics to similar companies based on the strength of its dividends, institutional ownership, profitability, valuation, risk, analyst recommendations and earnings.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of recent ratings and price targets for Applied Optoelectronics and its competitors, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Applied Optoelectronics	1	1	4	0	2.50
Applied Optoelectronics Competitors	1072	4023	7069	378	2.54

Applied Optoelectronics presently has a consensus target price of $156.00, suggesting a potential upside of 143.86%. As a group, “Communications Equipment” companies have a potential upside of 44.07%. Given Applied Optoelectronics’ higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe Applied Optoelectronics is more favorable than its competitors.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Applied Optoelectronics and its competitors revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Net Income	Price/Earnings Ratio
Applied Optoelectronics	$455.71 million	-$38.23 million	-82.01
Applied Optoelectronics Competitors	$2.69 billion	$292.54 million	-2.70

Applied Optoelectronics’ competitors have higher revenue and earnings than Applied Optoelectronics. Applied Optoelectronics is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than its competitors, indicating that it is currently more affordable than other companies in its industry.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

61.7% of Applied Optoelectronics shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 44.4% of shares of all “Communications Equipment” companies are held by institutional investors. 3.8% of Applied Optoelectronics shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 18.4% of shares of all “Communications Equipment” companies are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Risk and Volatility

Applied Optoelectronics has a beta of 4.04, indicating that its share price is 304% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Applied Optoelectronics’ competitors have a beta of 1.17, indicating that their average share price is 17% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Profitability

This table compares Applied Optoelectronics and its competitors’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Applied Optoelectronics	-9.57%	-1.98%	-1.34%
Applied Optoelectronics Competitors	1.09%	-4.97%	3.05%

Summary

Applied Optoelectronics competitors beat Applied Optoelectronics on 8 of the 13 factors compared.

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. The company sells its products to internet data center operators, cable television, telecom equipment manufacturers, fiber-to-the-home, and internet service providers through its direct and indirect sales channels. Applied Optoelectronics, Inc. was incorporated in 1997 and is headquartered in Sugar Land, Texas.