Applied Optoelectronics Sees Unusually High Options Volume (NASDAQ:AAOI)

Applied Optoelectronics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AAOI) was the recipient of some unusual options trading on Thursday. Stock traders purchased 73,645 call options on the company. This represents an increase of approximately 59% compared to the average volume of 46,409 call options.

Applied Optoelectronics Trading Up 10.8%

Shares of NASDAQ:AAOI traded up $19.83 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $203.90. 9,658,271 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 9,990,909. The firm has a market capitalization of $16.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -309.46 and a beta of 3.66. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $152.29 and its 200-day moving average price is $84.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18, a quick ratio of 3.03 and a current ratio of 3.83. Applied Optoelectronics has a twelve month low of $15.29 and a twelve month high of $233.67.

Applied Optoelectronics (NASDAQ:AAOI) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The semiconductor company reported ($0.07) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.05) by ($0.02). Applied Optoelectronics had a negative return on equity of 4.64% and a negative net margin of 8.55%.The business had revenue of $151.14 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $156.98 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted ($0.02) EPS. Applied Optoelectronics’s revenue for the quarter was up 51.3% on a year-over-year basis. Applied Optoelectronics has set its Q2 2026 guidance at -0.030-0.030 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Applied Optoelectronics will post 0.6 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on AAOI shares. Raymond James Financial reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $160.00 price objective on shares of Applied Optoelectronics in a report on Friday, May 8th. Northland Securities reissued a “market perform” rating and set a $55.00 target price on shares of Applied Optoelectronics in a report on Friday, February 27th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Applied Optoelectronics from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Monday, April 13th. Rosenblatt Securities reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $50.00 price target on shares of Applied Optoelectronics in a report on Thursday, February 19th. Finally, B. Riley Financial upgraded shares of Applied Optoelectronics from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $54.00 price target on the stock in a report on Friday, February 27th. 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 company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $79.80.

Insider Activity at Applied Optoelectronics

In related news, CEO Chih-Hsiang (Thompson) Lin sold 58,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $173.26, for a total transaction of $10,049,080.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 2,255,693 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $390,821,369.18. This trade represents a 2.51% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, insider Shu-Hua (Joshua) Yeh sold 39,154 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $173.26, for a total value of $6,783,822.04. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 462,430 shares in the company, valued at approximately $80,120,621.80. This trade represents a 7.81% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Insiders have sold a total of 389,321 shares of company stock worth $57,608,524 over the last 90 days. 3.80% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Applied Optoelectronics

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in AAOI. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. raised its holdings in Applied Optoelectronics by 1.4% during the first quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 18,072 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $1,529,000 after buying an additional 243 shares during the last quarter. Comerica Bank raised its holdings in Applied Optoelectronics by 27.6% during the fourth quarter. Comerica Bank now owns 1,386 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $48,000 after buying an additional 300 shares during the last quarter. AlphaQuest LLC raised its holdings in Applied Optoelectronics by 7.9% during the third quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 7,503 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $195,000 after buying an additional 551 shares during the last quarter. Police & Firemen s Retirement System of New Jersey raised its holdings in Applied Optoelectronics by 3.6% during the fourth quarter. Police & Firemen s Retirement System of New Jersey now owns 16,073 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $560,000 after buying an additional 556 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Allworth Financial LP raised its holdings 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 buying an additional 731 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 61.70% of the company’s stock.

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.