Hung-Lun (Fred) Chang Sells 32,172 Shares of Applied Optoelectronics (NASDAQ:AAOI) Stock

Applied Optoelectronics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AAOI) insider Hung-Lun Chang sold 32,172 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $110.21, for a total value of $3,545,676.12. Following the transaction, the insider owned 249,276 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $27,472,707.96. This represents a 11.43% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website.

Hung-Lun (Fred) Chang also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Wednesday, June 17th, Hung-Lun Chang sold 40,329 shares of Applied Optoelectronics stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $170.60, for a total transaction of $6,880,127.40.
• On Friday, June 12th, Hung-Lun Chang sold 34,000 shares of Applied Optoelectronics stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $166.53, for a total transaction of $5,662,020.00.

Applied Optoelectronics Trading Down 4.3%

Applied Optoelectronics stock traded down $4.64 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $103.29. 5,659,539 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 10,485,839. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a current ratio of 2.78 and a quick ratio of 2.13. Applied Optoelectronics, Inc. has a 52-week low of $18.50 and a 52-week high of $233.67. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -132.42 and a beta of 3.79. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $115.09 and its 200 day moving average price is $131.18.

Applied Optoelectronics (NASDAQ:AAOI) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The semiconductor company reported $0.06 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.02 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $191.92 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $190.48 million. Applied Optoelectronics had a negative net margin of 9.57% and a negative return on equity of 1.98%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 86.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted ($0.16) EPS. Applied Optoelectronics has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 0.110-0.260 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that Applied Optoelectronics, Inc. will post 0.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have commented on AAOI shares. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Applied Optoelectronics from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, August 8th. Raymond James Financial reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $178.00 target price on shares of Applied Optoelectronics in a research report on Tuesday, August 11th. Weiss Ratings cut Applied Optoelectronics from a “sell (d-)” rating to a “sell (e+)” rating in a research note on Monday, August 17th. Needham & Company LLC lowered their target price on Applied Optoelectronics from $220.00 to $190.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 7th. Finally, B. Riley Financial restated a “neutral” rating on shares of Applied Optoelectronics in a research report on Friday, August 7th. 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’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $139.40.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Applied Optoelectronics

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Allworth Financial LP raised its position 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 purchasing an additional 731 shares during the last quarter. Comerica Bank purchased a new stake in Applied Optoelectronics during the 3rd quarter valued at about $28,000. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. grew its position in Applied Optoelectronics by 166.7% during the 4th quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 1,200 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 750 shares during the last quarter. EFG International AG bought a new stake in Applied Optoelectronics during the 2nd quarter valued at about $44,000. Finally, Persistent Asset Partners Ltd bought a new stake in Applied Optoelectronics during the 2nd quarter valued at about $47,000. 61.70% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Applied Optoelectronics

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.