Insider Selling: Applied Optoelectronics (NASDAQ:AAOI) Director Sells 2,500 Shares of Stock

Applied Optoelectronics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AAOI) Director Min-Chu (Mike) Chen sold 2,500 shares of Applied Optoelectronics stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $97.00, for a total value of $242,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 20,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,940,000. This trade represents a 11.11% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink.

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

• On Monday, March 9th, Min-Chu (Mike) Chen sold 8,835 shares of Applied Optoelectronics stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $108.72, for a total transaction of $960,541.20.

Applied Optoelectronics Trading Up 8.9%

Shares of AAOI stock traded up $9.87 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $120.49. 13,570,868 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 7,110,200. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $49.55 and a 200 day moving average of $36.01. The company has a quick ratio of 1.91, a current ratio of 2.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18. Applied Optoelectronics, Inc. has a 1 year low of $9.71 and a 1 year high of $127.39. The firm has a market cap of $9.06 billion, a PE ratio of -185.37 and a beta of 3.19.

Applied Optoelectronics (NASDAQ:AAOI) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 26th. The semiconductor company reported ($0.01) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.12) by $0.11. Applied Optoelectronics had a negative net margin of 8.39% and a negative return on equity of 5.29%. The firm had revenue of $134.27 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $131.56 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned ($0.02) earnings per share. Applied Optoelectronics’s 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. Analysts expect that Applied Optoelectronics, Inc. will post -1.18 earnings per share for the current year.

Applied Optoelectronics News Roundup

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

• Positive Sentiment: Company announced its first volume order for 1.6T data?center transceivers from a major hyperscale customer — a clear commercial validation that supports revenue scaling into 2026. AOI Receives First Volume Order of 1.6T Data Center Transceivers from Major Hyperscale Customer
• Positive Sentiment: Reported Q4 2025 results: revenue beat and quarter-over-quarter growth (revenue $134.3M), gross margin expansion — results support the narrative that AAOI can scale into larger hyperscaler programs. Applied Optoelectronics, Inc. (AAOI) Posts Fourth Quarter and Full Year 2025 Results
• Positive Sentiment: Multiple analyst pieces highlight 800G ramps, upcoming 1.6T demand and new Texas capacity as catalysts for a potential >$1B revenue path in 2026 if execution and order timing hold. AAOI Bets on 800G Ramp, 1.6T Optics & Texas Scale to Power AI Growth
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts note a massive share run this past year (700%+) and emphasize that continued execution on hyperscaler ramps could sustain the rally. Applied Optoelectronics: After a 700% Run, Can Execution Keep Up?
• Neutral Sentiment: Short?interest reports in early March appear to show zero shares (likely a reporting anomaly), so current short?interest data provide no clear signal about bearish positioning.
• Negative Sentiment: Risk flags: analysts warn rising costs, tariff exposure and the timing of hyperscaler orders could hurt margins and growth conversion; company guidance for Q1 2026 includes negative EPS range and consensus still models a loss for the year. AAOI Stock Surges 129% in a Month: Should You Buy, Sell or Hold?

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Applied Optoelectronics

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in AAOI. Invesco Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Applied Optoelectronics by 5,208.9% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,512,309 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $122,439,000 after acquiring an additional 3,446,150 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its position in Applied Optoelectronics by 5,321.6% during the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 2,229,757 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $77,730,000 after purchasing an additional 2,188,630 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley boosted its position in Applied Optoelectronics by 157.1% during the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 1,699,855 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $59,257,000 after purchasing an additional 1,038,775 shares during the period. Hawk Ridge Capital Management LP increased its holdings in Applied Optoelectronics by 106.2% in the 4th quarter. Hawk Ridge Capital Management LP now owns 1,700,900 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $59,293,000 after purchasing an additional 875,903 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Artemis Investment Management LLP acquired a new stake in Applied Optoelectronics in the 4th quarter valued at $26,923,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 61.70% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently commented on the company. Needham & Company LLC upped their price objective on Applied Optoelectronics from $43.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 27th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Applied Optoelectronics in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. Wall Street Zen raised Applied Optoelectronics from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, February 28th. Northland Securities restated a “market perform” rating and set a $55.00 price target on shares of Applied Optoelectronics in a research note on Friday, February 27th. Finally, B. Riley Financial upgraded Applied Optoelectronics from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $54.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Friday, February 27th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Applied Optoelectronics currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $52.80.

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.