Applied Optoelectronics (NASDAQ:AAOI) Hits New 52-Week High – Still a Buy?

Applied Optoelectronics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AAOI) shares reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $43.88 and last traded at $44.52, with a volume of 5233674 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $37.39.

Applied Optoelectronics News Summary

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)

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

Applied Optoelectronics Price Performance

The company has a market cap of $2.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -13.54 and a beta of 3.26. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $33.75 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $29.23. The company has a quick ratio of 1.63, a current ratio of 2.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23.

Applied Optoelectronics (NASDAQ:AAOI) last announced 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 business had revenue of $118.63 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $119.77 million. Applied Optoelectronics had a negative net margin of 36.97% and a negative return on equity of 7.34%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 82.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted ($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 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Applied Optoelectronics news, insider David C. Kuo sold 12,000 shares of Applied Optoelectronics stock in a transaction dated 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 in the company, valued at $5,164,351.80. The trade was a 9.48% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Stefan J. Murry sold 934 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $35.00, for a total transaction of $32,690.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 283,037 shares in the company, valued at $9,906,295. The trade was a 0.33% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 28,500 shares of company stock valued at $1,178,726 in the last three months. Insiders own 4.50% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Applied Optoelectronics

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of AAOI. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Applied Optoelectronics by 7.7% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 4,982,660 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $173,696,000 after buying an additional 358,090 shares during the period. CloudAlpha Capital Management Limited Hong Kong boosted its holdings in Applied Optoelectronics by 410.7% in the second quarter. CloudAlpha Capital Management Limited Hong Kong now owns 1,408,983 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $36,197,000 after acquiring an additional 1,133,115 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Applied Optoelectronics by 18.8% in the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,285,693 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $33,034,000 after acquiring an additional 203,830 shares during the period. Citigroup Inc. grew its stake in Applied Optoelectronics by 60.0% in the third quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 1,160,456 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $30,091,000 after acquiring an additional 435,349 shares during the period. Finally, Hawk Ridge Capital Management LP bought a new stake in shares of Applied Optoelectronics during the third quarter valued at approximately $21,392,000. 61.70% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.