Applied Optoelectronics (NASDAQ:AAOI) Sets New 1-Year High – Still a Buy?

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Applied Optoelectronics Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a quick ratio of 1.63 and a current ratio of 2.31. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $35.97 and a 200-day moving average price of $29.90. The company has a market capitalization of $3.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -14.88 and a beta of 3.32.

Insider Buying and Selling at Applied Optoelectronics

In related news, insider David C. Kuo sold 12,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $45.05, for a total value of $540,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 114,636 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,164,351.80. The trade was a 9.48% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Stefan J. Murry sold 934 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $35.00, for a total value of $32,690.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 283,037 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,906,295. This trade represents a 0.33% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 28,500 shares of company stock valued at $1,178,726 in the last quarter. 4.50% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Applied Optoelectronics

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Comerica Bank increased its stake in Applied Optoelectronics by 27.6% during the 4th quarter. Comerica Bank now owns 1,386 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $48,000 after purchasing an additional 300 shares in the last quarter. AlphaQuest LLC increased its position in shares of Applied Optoelectronics by 7.9% during the third quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 7,503 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $195,000 after acquiring an additional 551 shares in the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP raised its holdings in shares of Applied Optoelectronics by 1,923.7% in the 4th quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 769 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 731 shares during the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System lifted its position in Applied Optoelectronics by 4.9% in the 4th quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 16,519 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $576,000 after acquiring an additional 769 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nisa Investment Advisors LLC lifted its position 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 acquiring an additional 801 shares in the last quarter. 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.