David Kuo Sells 12,000 Shares of Applied Optoelectronics (NASDAQ:AAOI) Stock

Applied Optoelectronics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AAOI) insider David Kuo sold 12,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $45.05, for a total value of $540,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 114,636 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,164,351.80. The trade was a 9.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link.

Applied Optoelectronics Trading Up 10.2%

Shares of AAOI stock opened at $43.61 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $2.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -13.54 and a beta of 3.26. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $33.75 and a 200-day moving average of $29.23. The company has a current ratio of 2.31, a quick ratio of 1.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23. Applied Optoelectronics, Inc. has a 1-year low of $9.71 and a 1-year high of $48.31.

Applied Optoelectronics (NASDAQ:AAOI) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 6th. The semiconductor company reported ($0.09) EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.10) by $0.01. The company had revenue of $118.63 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $119.77 million. Applied Optoelectronics had a negative return on equity of 7.34% and a negative net margin of 36.97%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 82.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned ($0.21) earnings per share. Applied Optoelectronics has set its Q4 2025 guidance at -0.130–0.040 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Applied Optoelectronics, Inc. will post -1.18 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AAOI has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. B. Riley reiterated a “sell” rating and set a $15.00 price target on shares of Applied Optoelectronics in a report on Monday, November 10th. Needham & Company LLC raised their target price on Applied Optoelectronics from $38.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 11th. Rosenblatt Securities reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $50.00 target price on shares of Applied Optoelectronics in a report on Friday, December 19th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Applied Optoelectronics in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. Finally, Northland Securities set a $45.00 price objective on shares of Applied Optoelectronics in a research report on Thursday, December 11th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $35.60.

More Applied Optoelectronics News

Here are the key news stories impacting Applied Optoelectronics this week:

• Positive Sentiment: 800G product wins and Texas capacity build — Company announcements and reporting indicate AAOI has secured 800G orders tied to AI/datacenter customers and is scaling manufacturing in Texas to meet that demand; investors are treating this as a structural demand catalyst for higher‑margin, next‑generation optics. Applied Optoelectronics Secures 800G Order And Scales Texas For AI Demand
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst/upbeat outlook and buy recommendations — Recent coverage from retail and independent outlets highlighted an upbeat outlook and fresh buy recommendations after the company’s disclosures, supporting momentum as investors re-rate growth prospects tied to AI networking spend. Applied Optoelectronics (AAOI) Hits Nearly 8-Year High on Upbeat Outlook, Buy Reco
• Positive Sentiment: Technical breakout narrative — Independent commentary argues AAOI has cleared multi‑year moving averages (50‑ and 200‑week), signaling a structural breakout that attracted momentum buying from traders and some longer‑term investors. Applied Optoelectronics’ Breakout Is Just Beginning
• Neutral Sentiment: Coverage pieces explaining the rally — Several market writeups summarized why the stock jumped (800G wins, expansion, upgrade momentum), which amplified retail interest but doesn’t add new corporate fundamentals by itself. Why Applied Optoelectronics, Inc.’s (AAOI) Stock Is Up 17.97%
• Neutral Sentiment: Mixed signals on sustainability of the move — Zacks and other analysts note that while revenue upside and product wins are supportive, recent earnings‑estimate revisions and the company’s negative trailing margins mean the rally could be sentiment‑driven and may not yet be reflected in durable EPS improvements. Zacks Investment Ideas feature highlights: Applied Optoelectronics,Amazon, Oracle and Microsoft
• Negative Sentiment: Profit‑taking and volatility — After the run of gains and an 8‑year high, the stock experienced a sharp pullback on heavy volume as some investors took profits; expect continued intraday swings while the market digests whether 800G orders and capital expansion will translate into margin recovery and sustained earnings. Applied Optoelectronics (AAOI) falls 12.5% after 8-year high
• Neutral Sentiment: Short interest data uninformative — Recent short‑interest reporting showed anomalous/zero values and doesn’t provide a clear signal on positioning; monitor updated, reliable filings for true short‑squeeze risk. Short interest report (Jan 28)

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in AAOI. CloudAlpha Capital Management Limited Hong Kong lifted its stake in Applied Optoelectronics by 410.7% during the 2nd quarter. CloudAlpha Capital Management Limited Hong Kong now owns 1,408,983 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $36,197,000 after acquiring an additional 1,133,115 shares in the last quarter. Chung Wu Investment Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Applied Optoelectronics in the second quarter valued at about $344,000. Sovereign Financial Group Inc. bought a new stake in Applied Optoelectronics in the 2nd quarter worth about $287,000. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC purchased a new stake in Applied Optoelectronics in the 2nd quarter valued at about $7,201,000. Finally, Squarepoint Ops LLC purchased a new position in Applied Optoelectronics in the second quarter worth $4,283,000. 61.70% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.