Min-Chu (Mike) Chen Sells 2,500 Shares of Applied Optoelectronics (NASDAQ:AAOI) Stock

Applied Optoelectronics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AAOI) Director Min-Chu (Mike) Chen sold 2,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $97.00, for a total transaction of $242,500.00. Following the sale, the director owned 20,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,940,000. This represents a 11.11% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink.

Min-Chu (Mike) Chen also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Monday, March 9th, Min-Chu (Mike) Chen sold 8,835 shares of Applied Optoelectronics stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $108.72, for a total value of $960,541.20.

Applied Optoelectronics Price Performance

NASDAQ:AAOI opened at $127.01 on Thursday. Applied Optoelectronics, Inc. has a 52 week low of $9.71 and a 52 week high of $128.96. The company has a quick ratio of 1.91, a current ratio of 2.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18. The company has a market capitalization of $9.55 billion, a P/E ratio of -195.40 and a beta of 3.20. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $53.08 and its two-hundred day moving average is $37.32.

Applied Optoelectronics (NASDAQ:AAOI) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 26th. The semiconductor company reported ($0.01) earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $131.56 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted ($0.02) EPS. The company’s revenue was up 33.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Applied Optoelectronics has set its Q1 2026 guidance at -0.090-0.000 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Applied Optoelectronics, Inc. will post -1.18 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Applied Optoelectronics

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Allworth Financial LP increased its position in Applied Optoelectronics by 1,923.7% during the fourth quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 769 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 731 shares during the last quarter. Comerica Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Applied Optoelectronics during the 3rd quarter valued at $28,000. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. increased its holdings in shares of Applied Optoelectronics by 166.7% during the 4th quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 1,200 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $42,000 after buying an additional 750 shares during the last quarter. Pinpoint Asset Management Singapore Pte. Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Applied Optoelectronics during the 2nd quarter worth $49,000. Finally, Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC purchased a new position in shares of Applied Optoelectronics in the 4th quarter worth $55,000. 61.70% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on AAOI shares. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Applied Optoelectronics in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. Rosenblatt Securities reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $50.00 price objective on shares of Applied Optoelectronics in a report on Thursday, February 19th. B. Riley Financial upgraded shares of Applied Optoelectronics from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $54.00 price target for the company in a research note on Friday, February 27th. Needham & Company LLC boosted their price objective on shares of Applied Optoelectronics from $43.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 27th. Finally, Northland Securities reiterated a “market perform” rating and issued a $55.00 price objective on shares of Applied Optoelectronics in a research report on Friday, February 27th. Three investment 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.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $52.80.

Key Headlines Impacting Applied Optoelectronics

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

• Positive Sentiment: Company hit an all‑time high after announcing a new supply deal and capacity expansion to meet hyperscaler demand. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Received first volume order for 1.6T data‑center transceivers from a major hyperscaler — a direct demand and revenue catalyst if production ramps on schedule. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Market reports of a large transceiver order (~$200M) add near‑term revenue visibility and help justify a higher multiple while growth is proving out. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Reported solid Q4 results: revenue up ~34% YoY and gross‑margin improvement, supporting management’s 800G/1.6T ramp thesis. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst and sector pieces highlight the AI/photonics thematic tailwind (800G/1.6T demand) that is lifting multiples, but emphasize that timing and execution determine how much revenue actually flows. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Short‑interest filings appear noisy/zeroed in recent reports and don’t provide a clear bearish signal at this time (not a meaningful driver today).
• Negative Sentiment: Multiple insider sales were disclosed this week (directors and the CFO sold shares), which can be interpreted as profit‑taking near current highs and may weigh on sentiment. SEC filing for one of the sales: Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Analysts warn the stock has already rallied massively (700%+ YTD/year) — execution risk (capacity, product mix, hyperscaler order timing), rising costs and potential tariff exposure create downside risk if ramps or margins miss expectations. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Management’s Q1 guidance implies negative EPS, so the stock is priced for strong operational execution — any near‑term miss would likely prompt a sharp pullback.

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.