Applied Optoelectronics (NASDAQ:AAOI) Director Min-Chu (Mike) Chen Sells 8,835 Shares

Applied Optoelectronics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AAOI) Director Min-Chu (Mike) Chen sold 8,835 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $108.72, for a total transaction of $960,541.20. Following the sale, the director owned 169,300 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $18,406,296. The trade was a 4.96% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink.

Min-Chu (Mike) Chen also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Friday, March 6th, Min-Chu (Mike) Chen sold 2,500 shares of Applied Optoelectronics stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $97.00, for a total transaction of $242,500.00.

Applied Optoelectronics Stock Up 8.9%

Shares of NASDAQ AAOI opened at $120.49 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $9.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -185.37 and a beta of 3.20. Applied Optoelectronics, Inc. has a 52 week low of $9.71 and a 52 week high of $127.39. The company has a quick ratio of 1.91, a current ratio of 2.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $51.24 and its 200 day moving average is $36.69.

Applied Optoelectronics (NASDAQ:AAOI) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 26th. The semiconductor company reported ($0.01) earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.12) by $0.11. Applied Optoelectronics had a negative return on equity of 5.29% and a negative net margin of 8.39%.The firm had revenue of $134.27 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $131.56 million. During the same period last year, the company earned ($0.02) EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 33.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Applied Optoelectronics has set its Q1 2026 guidance at -0.090-0.000 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that Applied Optoelectronics, Inc. will post -1.18 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in AAOI. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in Applied Optoelectronics by 13.6% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 4,624,570 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $119,915,000 after acquiring an additional 551,910 shares in the last quarter. WT Asset Management Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Applied Optoelectronics during the 3rd quarter valued at $5,040,000. AI Squared Management Ltd bought a new position in Applied Optoelectronics in the 3rd quarter worth $5,043,000. Squarepoint Ops LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Applied Optoelectronics during the second quarter worth about $4,283,000. Finally, Citigroup Inc. raised its stake in Applied Optoelectronics by 60.0% during the 3rd quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 1,160,456 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $30,091,000 after purchasing an additional 435,349 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 61.70% of the company’s stock.

Key Headlines Impacting Applied Optoelectronics

Here are the key news stories impacting Applied Optoelectronics this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Company hit an all?time high after announcing a new supply deal and expansion that underpins capacity to meet hyperscaler demand. Applied Optoelectronics (AAOI) hits all-time high on new supply deal, expansion
• Positive Sentiment: Received its first volume order for 1.6T data?center transceivers from a major hyperscaler — a direct revenue/capacity catalyst if ramps stick. Applied Optoelectronics climbs after receiving first volume order for its 1.6T data center transceivers
• Positive Sentiment: Market reports of a large transceiver order (reported ~ $200M) add near?term revenue visibility and help justify higher multiple on growth expectations. Applied Optoelectronics stock rises on $200M transceiver order
• Positive Sentiment: Reported solid Q4 revenue and margin improvement (revenue up ~34% YoY; gross margin expansion) that underpin management’s 800G/1.6T ramp thesis. Applied Optoelectronics, Inc. (AAOI) Posts Fourth Quarter and Full Year 2025 Results
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst/sector pieces highlight the AI/photonics thematic lift (800G, 1.6T demand) that’s driving multiple expansion, but they stress execution/timing will determine how much revenue actually flows. AAOI Bets on 800G Ramp, 1.6T Optics & Texas Scale to Power AI Growth
• Neutral Sentiment: Short?interest data posted in filings looks noisy/zeroed in recent reports and doesn’t provide a clear bearish signal — likely not a driver right now.
• Negative Sentiment: Multiple insider sales disclosed this week (directors and the CFO sold shares), which can be perceived as profit?taking or signal reduced insider conviction near current highs. SEC filings available for the trades. SEC insider sale filing (William H. Yeh)
• Negative Sentiment: Analysts warn the stock has already rallied massively (700%+ in a year); execution risk (capacity, product mix, timing of hyperscaler orders), rising costs and possible tariff headwinds create downside risk if ramps slip. Applied Optoelectronics: After a 700% Run, Can Execution Keep Up?
• Negative Sentiment: Management’s near?term EPS guidance remains negative for Q1 (range implies continued early?stage profitability risk), so the stock is priced for strong operational execution — any miss would likely trigger pullbacks.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have commented on AAOI. Rosenblatt Securities reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $50.00 target price on shares of Applied Optoelectronics in a report on Thursday, February 19th. Needham & Company LLC boosted their target price on shares of Applied Optoelectronics from $43.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 27th. Northland Securities restated a “market perform” rating and issued a $55.00 price target on shares of Applied Optoelectronics in a research note on Friday, February 27th. B. Riley Financial raised Applied Optoelectronics from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $54.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 27th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Applied Optoelectronics from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, February 28th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Applied Optoelectronics has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $52.80.

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.