8,400 Shares in Applied Optoelectronics, Inc. $AAOI Bought by VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al

VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al acquired a new position in shares of Applied Optoelectronics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AAOI) during the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund acquired 8,400 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,245,000.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. California State Teachers Retirement System grew its holdings in shares of Applied Optoelectronics by 17,896.9% during the second quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 12,681,311 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $1,878,863,000 after buying an additional 12,610,847 shares during the last quarter. Greenland Capital Management LP purchased a new stake in Applied Optoelectronics during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $274,000. AlphaGrep UK Ltd purchased a new stake in Applied Optoelectronics during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $369,000. FirstWave Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Applied Optoelectronics by 199.6% during the 2nd quarter. FirstWave Capital Management LLC now owns 58,277 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $8,634,000 after acquiring an additional 38,823 shares during the period. Finally, Nykredit A S purchased a new position in shares of Applied Optoelectronics in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $362,000. 61.70% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AAOI has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Raymond James Financial reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $178.00 target price on shares of Applied Optoelectronics in a report on Tuesday, August 11th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Applied Optoelectronics from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 8th. B. Riley Financial reissued a “neutral” rating on shares of Applied Optoelectronics in a research note on Friday, August 7th. Rosenblatt Securities restated a “buy” rating and set a $220.00 price objective on shares of Applied Optoelectronics in a research report on Friday, August 7th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reduced their target price on shares of Applied Optoelectronics from $220.00 to $190.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 7th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $139.40.

Applied Optoelectronics Stock Up 2.0%

AAOI stock opened at $105.36 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 2.78, a quick ratio of 2.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $114.43 and its 200 day moving average price is $131.36. Applied Optoelectronics, Inc. has a 52 week low of $18.50 and a 52 week high of $233.67. The company has a market cap of $8.91 billion, a P/E ratio of -135.08 and a beta of 3.79.

Applied Optoelectronics (NASDAQ:AAOI) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The semiconductor company reported $0.06 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.02 by $0.04. Applied Optoelectronics had a negative return on equity of 1.98% and a negative net margin of 9.57%.The company had revenue of $191.92 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $190.48 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned ($0.16) earnings per share. Applied Optoelectronics’s quarterly revenue was up 86.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Applied Optoelectronics has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 0.110-0.260 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Applied Optoelectronics, Inc. will post 0.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CFO Stefan J. Murry sold 4,000 shares of Applied Optoelectronics 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 completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 367,168 shares in the company, valued at $38,673,805.44. The trade was a 1.08% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Shu-Hua Yeh sold 6,000 shares of Applied Optoelectronics stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $147.73, for a total transaction of $886,380.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 377,498 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $55,767,779.54. This trade represents a 1.56% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last quarter, insiders sold 98,501 shares of company stock worth $14,003,877. 3.80% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Key Applied Optoelectronics News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Applied Optoelectronics is expanding capacity for 800G and 1.6T optical products as AI infrastructure investment drives demand for faster data-center connectivity. The growth opportunity strengthens AAOI’s competitive position against larger rivals such as Lumentum and Coherent. AAOI’s Optical Networking Demand Rise: Can It Beat LITE and COHR?
• Positive Sentiment: The company is expanding its operating footprint through the acquisition of a Houston facility, a move that could provide additional manufacturing or operational capacity to support expected customer demand. Applied Optoelectronics Expands Operations with Houston Facility Acquisition
• Neutral Sentiment: Analysts and investors continue comparing AAOI with networking and optical-component peers, including Arista Networks. The comparison highlights the company’s AI-networking opportunity but also its smaller scale, losses and high valuation risk. Critical Analysis: Arista Networks versus Applied Optoelectronics
• Negative Sentiment: Chief Financial Officer Stefan Murry sold 4,000 shares worth approximately $421,000, while director Hung-Lun Fred Chang previously sold 32,172 shares worth about $3.5 million. Murry’s transaction was conducted under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plan and he retains a substantial position, reducing—but not eliminating—the bearish signal.

Applied Optoelectronics Company Profile

Applied Optoelectronics, Inc develops and manufactures fiber-optic networking products and components. Its offerings include optical transceivers, transponders, modules and related equipment used to transmit data over fiber-optic networks.

The company serves several communications markets, including data centers, telecommunications, broadband access and cable television. Its products support applications such as high-speed data transmission, cloud computing, network infrastructure and fiber-based broadband services.

Founded in 1997 and headquartered in Sugar Land, Texas, Applied Optoelectronics serves customers in North America, Asia and other international markets.