Applied Optoelectronics (NASDAQ:AAOI) Stock Price Down 11.8% on Insider Selling

Shares of Applied Optoelectronics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AAOI) were down 11.8% during trading on Wednesday following insider selling activity. The company traded as low as $85.76 and last traded at $86.22. Approximately 14,519,984 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 40% from the average daily volume of 10,339,997 shares. The stock had previously closed at $97.78.

Specifically, CFO Stefan Murry sold 4,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $102.87, for a total value of $411,480.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 363,168 shares in the company, valued at approximately $37,359,092.16. The trade was a 1.09% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on AAOI shares. Raymond James Financial reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $178.00 price objective on shares of Applied Optoelectronics in a research report on Tuesday, August 11th. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Applied Optoelectronics from a “sell (d-)” rating to a “sell (e+)” rating in a report on Monday, August 17th. Needham & Company LLC cut their price target on shares of Applied Optoelectronics from $220.00 to $190.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, August 7th. Rosenblatt Securities reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $220.00 price target on shares of Applied Optoelectronics in a research report on Friday, August 7th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded Applied Optoelectronics from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, August 8th. Three investment 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’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $139.40.

Applied Optoelectronics Price Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $7.29 billion, a P/E ratio of -110.54 and a beta of 3.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a quick ratio of 2.13 and a current ratio of 2.78. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $113.25 and a 200-day simple moving average of $133.48.

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. N10 Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Applied Optoelectronics in the 3rd quarter worth about $993,000. Sax Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Applied Optoelectronics during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $229,000. GK Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Applied Optoelectronics in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $70,000. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in shares of Applied Optoelectronics by 32.9% during the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,475 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $246,000 after acquiring an additional 613 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Farther Finance Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Applied Optoelectronics by 46.6% during the third quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 1,051 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $104,000 after acquiring an additional 334 shares during the last quarter. 61.70% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Applied Optoelectronics

Applied Optoelectronics, Inc (NASDAQ: AAOI) develops and manufactures fiber-optic networking products used to transmit data across broadband, data center, telecommunications and wireless networks. Its portfolio includes optical transceivers, modules, lasers, components and networking equipment designed for high-speed communications infrastructure.

The company serves communications service providers, cable television and broadband operators, internet content providers, data center operators and telecommunications customers.