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

Applied Optoelectronics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AAOI)’s stock price gapped up before the market opened on Monday. The stock had previously closed at $75.57, but opened at $80.00. Applied Optoelectronics shares last traded at $76.0240, with a volume of 2,458,802 shares traded.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have commented on the company. Needham & Company LLC decreased their price objective on Applied Optoelectronics from $220.00 to $190.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, August 7th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Applied Optoelectronics from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 8th. Weiss Ratings downgraded Applied Optoelectronics from a “sell (d-)” rating to a “sell (e+)” rating in a research report on Monday, August 17th. B. Riley Financial cut their price target on Applied Optoelectronics from $109.00 to $92.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 15th. Finally, Rosenblatt Securities reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $220.00 price target on shares of Applied Optoelectronics in a research note on Friday, August 7th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $147.00.

Applied Optoelectronics Stock Performance

The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $108.14 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $133.12. 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 has a market cap of $6.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -98.38 and a beta of 3.85.

Applied Optoelectronics (NASDAQ:AAOI) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The semiconductor company reported $0.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 business had revenue of $191.92 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $190.48 million. During the same period last year, the company earned ($0.16) EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 86.3% on a year-over-year basis. Applied Optoelectronics has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 0.110-0.260 EPS. Analysts predict that Applied Optoelectronics, Inc. will post 0.55 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Hung-Lun Chang sold 32,172 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $110.21, for a total transaction of $3,545,676.12. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 249,276 shares in the company, valued at approximately $27,472,707.96. The trade was a 11.43% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Shu-Hua Yeh sold 6,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $120.03, for a total value of $720,180.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 371,498 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $44,590,904.94. This trade represents a 1.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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 quarter, insiders have sold 56,887 shares of company stock worth $6,581,484. Insiders own 3.80% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Applied Optoelectronics

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. BlackRock Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Applied Optoelectronics in the second quarter worth about $955,672,000. Renaissance Technologies LLC bought a new position in shares of Applied Optoelectronics during the 1st quarter valued at about $47,817,000. William Blair Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Applied Optoelectronics during the 2nd quarter valued at about $74,703,000. Bank of America Corp DE bought a new position in shares of Applied Optoelectronics during the 2nd quarter valued at about $33,712,000. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new position in shares of Applied Optoelectronics in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $32,567,000. 61.70% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Applied Optoelectronics Company Profile

Applied Optoelectronics, Inc (NASDAQ: AAOI) develops and manufactures fiber-optic networking products and solutions. Its offerings include optical transceivers, transmitters, receivers, lasers, and related components used to transmit data across fiber-optic networks.

The company serves several communications markets, including data centers, broadband access networks, cable television, and telecommunications. Its products are designed for applications such as high-speed data transmission, fiber-to-the-home and other broadband deployments, network connectivity, and communications infrastructure.

Founded in 1997 and headquartered in Sugar Land, Texas, Applied Optoelectronics supports customers in multiple regions, including North America, Asia, and other international markets.