Applied Optoelectronics (NASDAQ:AAOI) Stock Price Up 7% – Here’s What Happened

Shares of Applied Optoelectronics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AAOI) were up 7% on Tuesday. The company traded as high as $77.28 and last traded at $76.95. 9,346,114 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 10% from the average daily volume of 10,397,127 shares. The stock had previously closed at $71.94.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have commented on AAOI shares. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Applied Optoelectronics from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, August 8th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Applied Optoelectronics from a “sell (e+)” rating to a “sell (d-)” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 21st. Rosenblatt Securities reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $220.00 target price on shares of Applied Optoelectronics in a research report on Friday, August 7th. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $178.00 price objective on shares of Applied Optoelectronics in a report on Tuesday, August 11th. Finally, B. Riley Financial cut their price objective on Applied Optoelectronics from $109.00 to $92.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 15th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Applied Optoelectronics has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $143.00.

Applied Optoelectronics Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a quick ratio of 2.13 and a current ratio of 2.78. The company has a 50-day moving average of $103.36 and a 200-day moving average of $111.90. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -98.65 and a beta of 3.85.

Applied Optoelectronics (NASDAQ:AAOI) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The semiconductor company reported $0.06 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.02 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $191.92 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $190.48 million. Applied Optoelectronics had a negative return on equity of 1.98% and a negative net margin of 9.57%. Applied Optoelectronics’s quarterly revenue was up 86.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned ($0.16) EPS. Applied Optoelectronics has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 0.110-0.260 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Applied Optoelectronics, Inc. will post 0.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Shu-Hua Yeh sold 6,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, October 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $120.03, for a total value of $720,180.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 371,498 shares in the company, valued at $44,590,904.94. This represents a 1.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CFO Stefan Murry sold 4,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, October 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $102.87, for a total value of $411,480.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 363,168 shares in the company, valued at approximately $37,359,092.16. The trade was a 1.09% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold 56,887 shares of company stock worth $6,581,484 over the last three months. 3.80% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Applied Optoelectronics

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Applied Optoelectronics during the second quarter worth about $955,672,000. William Blair Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Applied Optoelectronics in the second quarter valued at approximately $74,703,000. Renaissance Technologies LLC acquired a new position in shares of Applied Optoelectronics in the first quarter valued at approximately $47,817,000. Bank of America Corp DE acquired a new position in shares of Applied Optoelectronics in the second quarter valued at approximately $33,712,000. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new position in shares of Applied Optoelectronics during the second quarter valued at approximately $32,567,000. 61.70% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Applied Optoelectronics Company Profile

Applied Optoelectronics, Inc (NASDAQ: AAOI) develops and manufactures fiber-optic networking products and solutions. Its offerings include optical transceivers, transmitters, receivers, lasers, and related components used to transmit data across fiber-optic networks.

The company serves several communications markets, including data centers, broadband access networks, cable television, and telecommunications. Its products are designed for applications such as high-speed data transmission, fiber-to-the-home and other broadband deployments, network connectivity, and communications infrastructure.

Founded in 1997 and headquartered in Sugar Land, Texas, Applied Optoelectronics supports customers in multiple regions, including North America, Asia, and other international markets.