Applied Optoelectronics (NASDAQ:AAOI) Stock Jumps 3.5% – Still a Buy?

Applied Optoelectronics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AAOI) shares shot up 3.5% during mid-day trading on Monday. The stock traded as high as $80.47 and last traded at $78.20. 11,326,262 shares were traded during trading, an increase of 9% from the average daily volume of 10,403,335 shares. The stock had previously closed at $75.57.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently issued reports on AAOI. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Applied Optoelectronics from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 8th. Rosenblatt Securities reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $220.00 target price on shares of Applied Optoelectronics in a research note on Friday, August 7th. B. Riley Financial reduced their target price on shares of Applied Optoelectronics from $109.00 to $92.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday. Raymond James Financial restated an “outperform” rating and set a $178.00 target price on shares of Applied Optoelectronics in a report on Tuesday, August 11th. Finally, Weiss Ratings cut shares of Applied Optoelectronics from a “sell (d-)” rating to a “sell (e+)” rating in a research report on Monday, August 17th. Three 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.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $147.00.

Applied Optoelectronics Trading Up 3.5%

The company has a quick ratio of 2.13, a current ratio of 2.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12. The firm has a market cap of $6.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -100.26 and a beta of 3.85. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $110.39 and a 200-day moving average price of $133.24.

Applied Optoelectronics (NASDAQ:AAOI) last announced 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. The business had revenue of $191.92 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $190.48 million. Applied Optoelectronics had a negative return on equity of 1.98% and a negative net margin of 9.57%. The company’s revenue was up 86.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted ($0.16) EPS. Applied Optoelectronics has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 0.110-0.260 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Applied Optoelectronics, Inc. will post 0.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Applied Optoelectronics

In other news, insider Shu-Hua Yeh sold 6,000 shares of Applied Optoelectronics stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $120.03, for a total transaction of $720,180.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 371,498 shares in the company, valued at $44,590,904.94. This trade represents a 1.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CFO Stefan Murry sold 4,000 shares of Applied Optoelectronics stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $102.87, for a total transaction of $411,480.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 363,168 shares in the company, valued at $37,359,092.16. This represents a 1.09% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold 58,172 shares of company stock valued at $6,735,709 over the last 90 days. 3.80% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Applied Optoelectronics

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. SteelPeak Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Applied Optoelectronics during the third quarter valued at about $578,000. IFP Advisors Inc increased its position in shares of Applied Optoelectronics by 47.8% during the third quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 1,925 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $191,000 after acquiring an additional 623 shares during the last quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. increased its position in shares of Applied Optoelectronics by 50.3% during the third quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 5,835 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $579,000 after acquiring an additional 1,954 shares during the last quarter. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. increased its position in shares of Applied Optoelectronics by 2,785.6% during the third quarter. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. now owns 5,800 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $623,000 after acquiring an additional 5,599 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fortitude Advisory Group L.L.C. acquired a new position in shares of Applied Optoelectronics in the third quarter worth about $632,000. 61.70% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Applied Optoelectronics

Applied Optoelectronics, Inc (NASDAQ: AAOI) develops and manufactures fiber-optic networking products and solutions. Its offerings include optical transceivers, transmitters, receivers, lasers, and related components used to transmit data across fiber-optic networks.

The company serves several communications markets, including data centers, broadband access networks, cable television, and telecommunications. Its products are designed for applications such as high-speed data transmission, fiber-to-the-home and other broadband deployments, network connectivity, and communications infrastructure.

Founded in 1997 and headquartered in Sugar Land, Texas, Applied Optoelectronics supports customers in multiple regions, including North America, Asia, and other international markets.