Key Points
- Insider David Kuo sold 12,000 shares of Applied Optoelectronics on Jan. 28 at an average price of $45.05 for $540,600, trimming his stake by 9.48% to 114,636 shares valued at about $5.16M.
- 800G product wins and a Texas capacity build have driven a strong rally and technical breakout to near multi‑year highs, though the stock has seen profit‑taking and elevated intraday volatility.
- Despite an 82% year‑over‑year revenue increase and a slight EPS beat last quarter, the company still reports negative margins and mixed analyst views—MarketBeat shows a consensus rating of "Hold" with a $35.60 target—raising questions about sustainable earnings recovery.
Applied Optoelectronics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AAOI - Get Free Report) insider David Kuo sold 12,000 shares of Applied Optoelectronics stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $45.05, for a total transaction of $540,600.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 114,636 shares in the company, valued at $5,164,351.80. This represents a 9.48% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website.
Applied Optoelectronics Stock Performance
Shares of NASDAQ AAOI opened at $43.61 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $2.98 billion, a PE ratio of -13.54 and a beta of 3.26. Applied Optoelectronics, Inc. has a 1 year low of $9.71 and a 1 year high of $48.31. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $33.75 and a 200-day moving average price of $29.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 2.31 and a quick ratio of 1.63.
Applied Optoelectronics (NASDAQ:AAOI - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, November 6th. The semiconductor company reported ($0.09) earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.10) by $0.01. Applied Optoelectronics had a negative net margin of 36.97% and a negative return on equity of 7.34%. The company had revenue of $118.63 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $119.77 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned ($0.21) EPS. Applied Optoelectronics's revenue for the quarter was up 82.1% on a year-over-year basis. Applied Optoelectronics has set its Q4 2025 guidance at -0.130--0.040 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Applied Optoelectronics, Inc. will post -1.18 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.
Institutional Trading of Applied Optoelectronics
A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in AAOI. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Applied Optoelectronics by 497.5% during the 2nd quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 962 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 801 shares in the last quarter. Comerica Bank purchased a new position in shares of Applied Optoelectronics in the third quarter valued at $28,000. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in Applied Optoelectronics by 85.9% in the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,785 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $46,000 after purchasing an additional 825 shares during the last quarter. Pinpoint Asset Management Singapore Pte. Ltd. purchased a new stake in Applied Optoelectronics during the second quarter valued at $49,000. Finally, Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC bought a new position in Applied Optoelectronics during the fourth quarter valued at $55,000. Institutional investors own 61.70% of the company's stock.
Applied Optoelectronics News Summary
Here are the key news stories impacting Applied Optoelectronics this week:
- Positive Sentiment: 800G product wins and Texas capacity build — Company announcements and reporting indicate AAOI has secured 800G orders tied to AI/datacenter customers and is scaling manufacturing in Texas to meet that demand; investors are treating this as a structural demand catalyst for higher‑margin, next‑generation optics. Applied Optoelectronics Secures 800G Order And Scales Texas For AI Demand
- Positive Sentiment: Analyst/upbeat outlook and buy recommendations — Recent coverage from retail and independent outlets highlighted an upbeat outlook and fresh buy recommendations after the company’s disclosures, supporting momentum as investors re-rate growth prospects tied to AI networking spend. Applied Optoelectronics (AAOI) Hits Nearly 8-Year High on Upbeat Outlook, Buy Reco
- Positive Sentiment: Technical breakout narrative — Independent commentary argues AAOI has cleared multi‑year moving averages (50‑ and 200‑week), signaling a structural breakout that attracted momentum buying from traders and some longer‑term investors. Applied Optoelectronics' Breakout Is Just Beginning
- Neutral Sentiment: Coverage pieces explaining the rally — Several market writeups summarized why the stock jumped (800G wins, expansion, upgrade momentum), which amplified retail interest but doesn't add new corporate fundamentals by itself. Why Applied Optoelectronics, Inc.’s (AAOI) Stock Is Up 17.97%
- Neutral Sentiment: Mixed signals on sustainability of the move — Zacks and other analysts note that while revenue upside and product wins are supportive, recent earnings‑estimate revisions and the company’s negative trailing margins mean the rally could be sentiment‑driven and may not yet be reflected in durable EPS improvements. Zacks Investment Ideas feature highlights: Applied Optoelectronics,Amazon, Oracle and Microsoft
- Negative Sentiment: Profit‑taking and volatility — After the run of gains and an 8‑year high, the stock experienced a sharp pullback on heavy volume as some investors took profits; expect continued intraday swings while the market digests whether 800G orders and capital expansion will translate into margin recovery and sustained earnings. Applied Optoelectronics (AAOI) falls 12.5% after 8-year high
- Neutral Sentiment: Short interest data uninformative — Recent short‑interest reporting showed anomalous/zero values and doesn’t provide a clear signal on positioning; monitor updated, reliable filings for true short‑squeeze risk. Short interest report (Jan 28)
Analysts Set New Price Targets
A number of research analysts recently commented on AAOI shares. Rosenblatt Securities reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $50.00 price target on shares of Applied Optoelectronics in a report on Friday, December 19th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of Applied Optoelectronics in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. Needham & Company LLC boosted their target price on shares of Applied Optoelectronics from $38.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, December 11th. B. Riley restated a "sell" rating and set a $15.00 target price on shares of Applied Optoelectronics in a research report on Monday, November 10th. Finally, Northland Securities set a $45.00 target price on shares of Applied Optoelectronics in a research note on Thursday, December 11th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $35.60.
Read Our Latest Analysis on Applied Optoelectronics
Applied Optoelectronics Company Profile
(
Get Free Report)
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.
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