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

Applied Optoelectronics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AAOI) Director Min-Chu (Mike) Chen sold 2,500 shares of Applied Optoelectronics stock in a transaction on Friday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $97.00, for a total transaction of $242,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 20,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,940,000. This represents a 11.11% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link.

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 transaction of $960,541.20.

Applied Optoelectronics Stock Performance

NASDAQ AAOI opened at $120.49 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $9.06 billion, a P/E ratio of -185.37 and a beta of 3.20. Applied Optoelectronics, Inc. has a 52-week low of $9.71 and a 52-week high of $127.39. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $51.24 and its 200 day moving average price is $36.69. The company has a quick ratio of 1.91, a current ratio of 2.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18.

Applied Optoelectronics (NASDAQ:AAOI) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 26th. The semiconductor company reported ($0.01) EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 firm had revenue of $134.27 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $131.56 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned ($0.02) EPS. The firm’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. On average, equities research analysts expect that Applied Optoelectronics, Inc. will post -1.18 earnings per share for the current year.

Applied Optoelectronics News Roundup

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 expansion that underpins capacity to meet hyperscaler demand. Applied Optoelectronics (AAOI) hits all-time high on new supply deal, expansion
• Positive Sentiment: Received its first volume order for 1.6T data‑center transceivers from a major hyperscaler — a direct revenue/capacity catalyst if ramps stick. Applied Optoelectronics climbs after receiving first volume order for its 1.6T data center transceivers
• Positive Sentiment: Market reports of a large transceiver order (reported ~ $200M) add near‑term revenue visibility and help justify higher multiple on growth expectations. Applied Optoelectronics stock rises on $200M transceiver order
• Positive Sentiment: Reported solid Q4 revenue and margin improvement (revenue up ~34% YoY; gross margin expansion) that underpin management’s 800G/1.6T ramp thesis. Applied Optoelectronics, Inc. (AAOI) Posts Fourth Quarter and Full Year 2025 Results
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst/sector pieces highlight the AI/photonics thematic lift (800G, 1.6T demand) that’s driving multiple expansion, but they stress execution/timing will determine how much revenue actually flows. AAOI Bets on 800G Ramp, 1.6T Optics & Texas Scale to Power AI Growth
• Neutral Sentiment: Short‑interest data posted in filings looks noisy/zeroed in recent reports and doesn’t provide a clear bearish signal — likely not a driver right now.
• Negative Sentiment: Multiple insider sales disclosed this week (directors and the CFO sold shares), which can be perceived as profit‑taking or signal reduced insider conviction near current highs. SEC filings available for the trades. SEC insider sale filing (William H. Yeh)
• Negative Sentiment: Analysts warn the stock has already rallied massively (700%+ in a year); execution risk (capacity, product mix, timing of hyperscaler orders), rising costs and possible tariff headwinds create downside risk if ramps slip. Applied Optoelectronics: After a 700% Run, Can Execution Keep Up?
• Negative Sentiment: Management’s near‑term EPS guidance remains negative for Q1 (range implies continued early‑stage profitability risk), so the stock is priced for strong operational execution — any miss would likely trigger pullbacks.

Institutional Trading of Applied Optoelectronics

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of AAOI. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Applied Optoelectronics in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,375,000. Invesco Ltd. raised its position in Applied Optoelectronics by 5,208.9% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,512,309 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $122,439,000 after acquiring an additional 3,446,150 shares in the last quarter. XTX Topco Ltd lifted its holdings in Applied Optoelectronics by 167.6% in the fourth quarter. XTX Topco Ltd now owns 24,771 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $864,000 after acquiring an additional 15,513 shares during the period. SummitTX Capital L.P. acquired a new stake in Applied Optoelectronics in the fourth quarter valued at $254,000. Finally, Quadrature Capital Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Applied Optoelectronics during the 4th quarter worth $1,453,000. 61.70% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on AAOI shares. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Applied Optoelectronics in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. Rosenblatt Securities reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $50.00 price objective on shares of Applied Optoelectronics in a research note on Thursday, February 19th. Northland Securities restated a “market perform” rating and issued a $55.00 target price on shares of Applied Optoelectronics in a research note on Friday, February 27th. Needham & Company LLC lifted their target price on shares of Applied Optoelectronics from $43.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 27th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Applied Optoelectronics from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, February 28th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $52.80.

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.