Needham & Company LLC Has Lowered Expectations for Applied Optoelectronics (NASDAQ:AAOI) Stock Price

Applied Optoelectronics (NASDAQ:AAOI) had its price target lowered by stock analysts at Needham & Company LLC from $190.00 to $170.00 in a research report issued on Tuesday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a “buy” rating on the semiconductor company’s stock. Needham & Company LLC‘s target price would suggest a potential upside of 136.31% from the company’s current price.

A number of other research analysts also recently issued reports on AAOI. Raymond James Financial restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $178.00 price target on shares of Applied Optoelectronics in a research report on Tuesday, August 11th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Applied Optoelectronics from a “sell (e+)” rating to a “sell (d-)” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 21st. B. Riley Financial lowered their price objective on shares of Applied Optoelectronics from $109.00 to $92.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 15th. Rosenblatt Securities reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $220.00 price objective on shares of Applied Optoelectronics in a research note on Friday, August 7th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Applied Optoelectronics from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, August 8th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $143.00.

Applied Optoelectronics Stock Performance

Shares of AAOI opened at $71.94 on Tuesday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $103.36 and its 200 day moving average price is $111.90. Applied Optoelectronics has a 12-month low of $18.50 and a 12-month high of $233.67. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.08 billion, a PE ratio of -92.23 and a beta of 3.85. 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 (NASDAQ:AAOI) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 6th. The semiconductor company reported $0.06 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.02 by $0.04. Applied Optoelectronics had a negative net margin of 9.57% and a negative return on equity of 1.98%. The firm had revenue of $191.92 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $190.48 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted ($0.16) earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 86.3% on a year-over-year basis. Applied Optoelectronics has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 0.110-0.260 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Applied Optoelectronics will post 0.55 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Stefan Murry sold 4,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $102.87, for a total transaction of $411,480.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 363,168 shares in the company, valued at $37,359,092.16. The trade was a 1.09% decrease in their position. The transaction 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 Shu-Hua Yeh sold 6,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $120.03, for a total value of $720,180.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 371,498 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $44,590,904.94. This represents a 1.59% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 56,887 shares of company stock valued at $6,581,484. Insiders own 3.80% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Applied Optoelectronics

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. California State Teachers Retirement System increased its holdings in shares of Applied Optoelectronics by 23.2% in the 1st quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 70,464 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $5,961,000 after acquiring an additional 13,265 shares during the period. BlackRock Inc. bought a new stake in Applied Optoelectronics in the 2nd quarter valued at about $955,672,000. Handelsbanken Fonder AB bought a new stake in Applied Optoelectronics in the 2nd quarter valued at about $7,719,000. Capstone Capital Management Ltd acquired a new position in Applied Optoelectronics during the 3rd quarter valued at about $2,101,000. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE acquired a new position in Applied Optoelectronics during the 2nd quarter valued at about $33,712,000. 61.70% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Applied Optoelectronics Company Profile

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.