Applied Optoelectronics (NASDAQ:AAOI) Shares Up 4.4% – Should You Buy?

Shares of Applied Optoelectronics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AAOI) traded up 4.4% on Tuesday. The company traded as high as $101.07 and last traded at $101.1230. 1,441,581 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 86% from the average daily volume of 10,209,113 shares. The stock had previously closed at $96.82.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Needham & Company LLC reduced their target price on shares of Applied Optoelectronics from $220.00 to $190.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 7th. Raymond James Financial restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $178.00 price target on shares of Applied Optoelectronics in a research note on Tuesday, August 11th. B. Riley Financial reaffirmed a “neutral” rating on shares of Applied Optoelectronics in a research report on Friday, August 7th. Rosenblatt Securities reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $220.00 price objective on shares of Applied Optoelectronics in a research note on Friday, August 7th. Finally, Weiss Ratings lowered Applied Optoelectronics from a “sell (d-)” rating to a “sell (e+)” rating in a report on Monday, August 17th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Applied Optoelectronics has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $139.40.

Applied Optoelectronics Trading Up 5.5%

The firm has a market capitalization of $8.64 billion, a PE ratio of -130.98 and a beta of 3.79. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $111.64 and its 200-day moving average price is $132.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a quick ratio of 2.13 and a current ratio of 2.78.

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

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Shu-Hua Yeh sold 6,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $147.73, for a total value of $886,380.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 377,498 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $55,767,779.54. This represents a 1.56% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Hung-Lun Chang sold 32,172 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $110.21, for a total transaction of $3,545,676.12. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 249,276 shares in the company, valued at $27,472,707.96. This represents a 11.43% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 52,172 shares of company stock worth $6,092,409. 3.80% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Applied Optoelectronics by 1.4% in the first quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 18,072 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $1,529,000 after acquiring an additional 243 shares in the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP boosted its holdings in Applied Optoelectronics by 68.8% in the 2nd quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 596 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $88,000 after purchasing an additional 243 shares in the last quarter. EFG International AG purchased a new stake in Applied Optoelectronics in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $44,000. Persistent Asset Partners Ltd acquired a new position in Applied Optoelectronics during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $47,000. Finally, Fiduciary Financial Advisors acquired a new position in Applied Optoelectronics during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $48,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 61.70% of the company’s stock.

Applied Optoelectronics Company Profile

Applied Optoelectronics, Inc develops and manufactures fiber-optic networking products and components. Its offerings include optical transceivers, transponders, modules and related equipment used to transmit data over fiber-optic networks.

The company serves several communications markets, including data centers, telecommunications, broadband access and cable television. Its products support applications such as high-speed data transmission, cloud computing, network infrastructure and fiber-based broadband services.

Founded in 1997 and headquartered in Sugar Land, Texas, Applied Optoelectronics serves customers in North America, Asia and other international markets.