Applied Optoelectronics (NASDAQ:AAOI) Shares Gap Up – Here’s What Happened

Applied Optoelectronics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AAOI)’s stock price gapped up before the market opened on Friday. The stock had previously closed at $105.90, but opened at $113.00. Applied Optoelectronics shares last traded at $110.5320, with a volume of 4,881,821 shares changing hands.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on AAOI shares. Rosenblatt Securities reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $220.00 target price on shares of Applied Optoelectronics in a research report on Friday, August 7th. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Applied Optoelectronics from a “sell (d-)” rating to a “sell (e+)” rating in a research note on Monday, August 17th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Applied Optoelectronics from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, August 8th. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $178.00 price target on shares of Applied Optoelectronics in a research report on Tuesday, August 11th. Finally, B. Riley Financial reissued a “neutral” rating on shares of Applied Optoelectronics in a report on Friday, August 7th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $139.40.

Applied Optoelectronics Price Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $9.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -144.77 and a beta of 3.85. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $113.81 and a 200-day moving average price of $133.60. 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 announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 6th. The semiconductor company reported $0.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.02 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $191.92 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $190.48 million. Applied Optoelectronics had a negative net margin of 9.57% and a negative return on equity of 1.98%. Applied Optoelectronics’s revenue was up 86.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned ($0.16) EPS. Applied Optoelectronics has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 0.110-0.260 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Applied Optoelectronics, Inc. will post 0.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Shu-Hua Yeh sold 6,000 shares of Applied Optoelectronics stock in a transaction on Monday, October 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $120.03, for a total transaction of $720,180.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 371,498 shares in the company, valued at $44,590,904.94. The trade was a 1.59% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CFO Stefan J. Murry sold 4,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $105.33, for a total transaction of $421,320.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 367,168 shares in the company, valued at approximately $38,673,805.44. The trade was a 1.08% 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. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 54,172 shares of company stock valued at $6,324,229. Insiders own 3.80% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Applied Optoelectronics

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in AAOI. Polaris Financial Partners purchased a new stake in shares of Applied Optoelectronics during the 3rd quarter worth $26,000. EFG International AG purchased a new stake in Applied Optoelectronics during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $44,000. Persistent Asset Partners Ltd acquired a new position in Applied Optoelectronics in the 2nd quarter valued at $47,000. Fiduciary Financial Advisors purchased a new stake in Applied Optoelectronics in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $48,000. Finally, Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC purchased a new position in Applied Optoelectronics in the second quarter worth $58,000. 61.70% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Applied Optoelectronics Company Profile

Applied Optoelectronics, Inc (NASDAQ: AAOI) develops and manufactures fiber-optic networking products used to transmit data across broadband, data center, telecommunications and wireless networks. Its portfolio includes optical transceivers, modules, lasers, components and networking equipment designed for high-speed communications infrastructure.

The company serves communications service providers, cable television and broadband operators, internet content providers, data center operators and telecommunications customers.