Applied Optoelectronics (NASDAQ:AAOI) Issues Q1 2026 Earnings Guidance

Applied Optoelectronics (NASDAQ:AAOI) issued an update on its first quarter 2026 earnings guidance on Thursday morning. The company provided EPS guidance of -0.090-0.000 for the period, compared to the consensus EPS estimate of -0.070. The company issued revenue guidance of $150.0 million-$165.0 million, compared to the consensus revenue estimate of $145.6 million.

Applied Optoelectronics Trading Down 7.6%

Shares of NASDAQ:AAOI traded down $4.43 during trading on Thursday, reaching $53.69. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 5,361,271 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,115,486. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.67 billion, a PE ratio of -16.67 and a beta of 3.32. Applied Optoelectronics has a 12 month low of $9.71 and a 12 month high of $59.25. The company has a current ratio of 2.31, a quick ratio of 1.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $40.61 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $32.00.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently commented on AAOI shares. Rosenblatt Securities reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $50.00 price target on shares of Applied Optoelectronics in a research note on Thursday, February 19th. Northland Securities set a $45.00 target price on shares of Applied Optoelectronics in a research report on Thursday, December 11th. Needham & Company LLC lifted their price target on shares of Applied Optoelectronics from $38.00 to $43.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 11th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Applied Optoelectronics in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. Finally, B. Riley Financial restated a “sell” rating and set a $15.00 price objective on shares of Applied Optoelectronics in a report on Monday, November 10th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $35.60.

Insider Transactions at Applied Optoelectronics

In other Applied Optoelectronics news, insider David C. Kuo sold 17,467 shares of Applied Optoelectronics stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.17, for a total value of $876,319.39. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 111,663 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,602,132.71. The trade was a 13.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Stefan J. Murry sold 11,693 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.25, for a total value of $587,573.25. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 290,050 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,575,012.50. The trade was a 3.88% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 66,520 shares of company stock worth $3,080,367 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 4.50% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Applied Optoelectronics

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Police & Firemen s Retirement System of New Jersey grew its stake in shares of Applied Optoelectronics by 3.6% during the 4th quarter. Police & Firemen s Retirement System of New Jersey now owns 16,073 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $560,000 after purchasing an additional 556 shares during the period. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. grew its position in Applied Optoelectronics by 166.7% during the fourth quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 1,200 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $42,000 after buying an additional 750 shares during the period. MetLife Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in Applied Optoelectronics by 2.9% in the fourth quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 33,089 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $1,153,000 after buying an additional 943 shares in the last quarter. Comerica Bank acquired a new position in shares of Applied Optoelectronics in the third quarter worth about $28,000. Finally, Inceptionr LLC boosted its stake in shares of Applied Optoelectronics by 12.1% during the 4th quarter. Inceptionr LLC now owns 10,855 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $378,000 after acquiring an additional 1,175 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 61.70% of the company’s stock.

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.