Westfield Capital Management Co. LP Buys Shares of 1,329,093 Applied Optoelectronics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AAOI)

Westfield Capital Management Co. LP purchased a new position in Applied Optoelectronics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AAOI) in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 1,329,093 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock, valued at approximately $19,019,000. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP owned 3.25% of Applied Optoelectronics as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Applied Optoelectronics by 29.2% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,954,498 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $27,089,000 after buying an additional 442,277 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Applied Optoelectronics by 90.7% during the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 75,981 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $630,000 after purchasing an additional 36,138 shares in the last quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in Applied Optoelectronics in the third quarter valued at about $1,319,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new position in Applied Optoelectronics in the second quarter valued at about $956,000. Finally, Kennedy Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Applied Optoelectronics by 88.6% in the first quarter. Kennedy Capital Management LLC now owns 463,213 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $6,420,000 after purchasing an additional 217,624 shares in the last quarter. 61.72% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Applied Optoelectronics Stock Performance

Shares of AAOI stock opened at $37.99 on Monday. The business has a fifty day moving average of $19.08 and a 200 day moving average of $13.17. Applied Optoelectronics, Inc. has a 1 year low of $6.70 and a 1 year high of $38.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 1.61 and a quick ratio of 1.06. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -18.44 and a beta of 1.96.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Elizabeth G. Loboa sold 13,494 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $36.54, for a total transaction of $493,070.76. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 124,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,549,230. This trade represents a 9.78 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Hung-Lun (Fred) Chang sold 20,323 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $30.35, for a total transaction of $616,803.05. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 195,572 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,935,610.20. This trade represents a 9.41 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 58,817 shares of company stock valued at $1,687,174 over the last quarter. 5.40% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on AAOI shares. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Applied Optoelectronics to a “sell” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. Northland Securities raised their target price on shares of Applied Optoelectronics from $18.00 to $25.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, November 8th. Rosenblatt Securities upped their price target on Applied Optoelectronics from $20.00 to $27.50 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 8th. Raymond James raised their price objective on Applied Optoelectronics from $17.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, November 8th. Finally, B. Riley decreased their price target on Applied Optoelectronics from $12.00 to $9.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $18.70.

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.