Applied Optoelectronics (NASDAQ:AAOI) CFO Sells 4,000 Shares

Applied Optoelectronics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AAOI) CFO Stefan Murry sold 4,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $112.76, for a total value of $451,040.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 280,070 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $31,580,693.20. This represents a 1.41% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link.

Applied Optoelectronics Price Performance

Applied Optoelectronics stock traded up $9.87 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $120.49. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 13,570,868 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,110,200. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $49.55 and its 200 day simple moving average is $36.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18, a quick ratio of 1.91 and a current ratio of 2.63. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.06 billion, a PE ratio of -185.37 and a beta of 3.19. Applied Optoelectronics, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $9.71 and a fifty-two week high of $127.39.

Applied Optoelectronics (NASDAQ:AAOI) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 26th. The semiconductor company reported ($0.01) EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.12) by $0.11. Applied Optoelectronics had a negative return on equity of 5.29% and a negative net margin of 8.39%.The business had revenue of $134.27 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $131.56 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned ($0.02) EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 33.9% on a year-over-year basis. Applied Optoelectronics has set its Q1 2026 guidance at -0.090-0.000 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Applied Optoelectronics, Inc. will post -1.18 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently commented on the stock. Needham & Company LLC increased their price target on shares of Applied Optoelectronics from $43.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 27th. Wall Street Zen raised Applied Optoelectronics from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, February 28th. Rosenblatt Securities reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $50.00 target price on shares of Applied Optoelectronics in a report on Thursday, February 19th. B. Riley Financial raised Applied Optoelectronics from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $54.00 price target for the company in a research report on Friday, February 27th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Applied Optoelectronics in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $52.80.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Applied Optoelectronics

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Allworth Financial LP increased its stake in Applied Optoelectronics by 1,923.7% in the fourth quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 769 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 731 shares during the last quarter. Comerica Bank purchased a new stake in Applied Optoelectronics in the 3rd quarter valued at about $28,000. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. grew its holdings in Applied Optoelectronics by 166.7% in the 4th 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. Pinpoint Asset Management Singapore Pte. Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Applied Optoelectronics during the 2nd quarter valued at about $49,000. Finally, Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC acquired a new position in shares of Applied Optoelectronics during the 4th quarter valued at about $55,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 61.70% of the company’s stock.

Key Stories Impacting Applied Optoelectronics

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?

Applied Optoelectronics Company Profile

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.