Applied Optoelectronics (NASDAQ:AAOI) Insider Sells $596,447.50 in Stock

Applied Optoelectronics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AAOI) insider Shu-Hua (Joshua) Yeh sold 4,715 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $126.50, for a total transaction of $596,447.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 383,498 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $48,512,497. This trade represents a 1.21% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan.

Shu-Hua (Joshua) Yeh also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Tuesday, July 21st, Shu-Hua (Joshua) Yeh sold 1,285 shares of Applied Optoelectronics stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $120.02, for a total transaction of $154,225.70.
• On Thursday, June 18th, Shu-Hua (Joshua) Yeh sold 6,000 shares of Applied Optoelectronics stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $171.89, for a total transaction of $1,031,340.00.
• On Friday, June 12th, Shu-Hua (Joshua) Yeh sold 28,826 shares of Applied Optoelectronics stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $166.53, for a total value of $4,800,393.78.
• On Thursday, June 4th, Shu-Hua (Joshua) Yeh sold 10,000 shares of Applied Optoelectronics stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $205.07, for a total value of $2,050,700.00.
• On Tuesday, May 19th, Shu-Hua (Joshua) Yeh sold 39,154 shares of Applied Optoelectronics stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $173.26, for a total value of $6,783,822.04.

Applied Optoelectronics Stock Performance

NASDAQ:AAOI opened at $124.22 on Friday. 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, Inc. has a 52-week low of $18.50 and a 52-week high of $233.67. The firm has a market cap of $9.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -188.21 and a beta of 3.76. The business’s fifty day moving average is $137.79 and its 200 day moving average is $118.02.

Applied Optoelectronics (NASDAQ:AAOI) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The semiconductor company reported $0.06 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.02 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $191.92 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $190.48 million. Applied Optoelectronics had a negative return on equity of 4.64% and a negative net margin of 8.55%.The firm’s revenue was up 86.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned ($0.16) EPS. Applied Optoelectronics has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 0.110-0.260 EPS. Research analysts predict that Applied Optoelectronics, Inc. will post 0.6 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently commented on AAOI. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Applied Optoelectronics in a research note on Tuesday, July 7th. Raymond James Financial reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Applied Optoelectronics in a report on Wednesday, June 10th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Applied Optoelectronics from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Monday, April 13th. Rosenblatt Securities reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $220.00 price target on shares of Applied Optoelectronics in a report on Monday, June 22nd. Finally, Needham & Company LLC lowered their price objective on Applied Optoelectronics from $260.00 to $220.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Three investment 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 company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $141.80.

Key Applied Optoelectronics News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Second-quarter results exceeded expectations: AAOI reported adjusted EPS of $0.06, above the $0.02 consensus estimate, while revenue rose 86.3% year over year to $191.9 million, slightly ahead of forecasts. The company also improved from a $0.16 per-share loss in the year-ago quarter. Applied Optoelectronics Reports Second Quarter 2026 Results
• Positive Sentiment: Demand remains exceptionally strong: Management said demand is expected to exceed production capacity through mid-2027, supported by AI data-center deployments and rising demand for high-speed optical networking products. This suggests strong order visibility and potential pricing power, although capacity expansion is increasingly important. Applied Optoelectronics Q2 Demand Outlook
• Positive Sentiment: Potential U.S. restrictions on Chinese optical transceivers provide a tailwind: A possible ban could encourage U.S. data-center customers to source from domestic suppliers such as AAOI, strengthening the company’s strategic position in the AI infrastructure market. Potential U.S. Restrictions on Chinese Optical Transceivers
• Neutral Sentiment: Third-quarter revenue guidance was solid: Management forecast revenue of $255 million to $290 million, with the midpoint above analysts’ $265.7 million estimate. However, the range reflects continued uncertainty around production ramp timing and product mix.
• Negative Sentiment: Third-quarter EPS guidance disappointed: AAOI projected EPS of $0.11 to $0.26, below the $0.27 consensus at the midpoint and with the low end substantially below expectations. The cautious earnings outlook appears to be the main reason the stock moved lower despite the quarterly beat. AAOI Q2 2026 Earnings Call Transcript
• Negative Sentiment: Valuation and insider selling remain risks: AAOI continues to report negative net income, while insider Shu-Hua Yeh sold approximately $596,000 of stock under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plan. The sale was relatively small compared with his remaining stake but adds a modest cautionary signal. AAOI Insider Sale

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Applied Optoelectronics

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of AAOI. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Applied Optoelectronics by 10.4% in the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 25,579 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $393,000 after buying an additional 2,415 shares during the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers bought a new stake in shares of Applied Optoelectronics during the 2nd quarter worth $377,000. New York State Common Retirement Fund grew its position in Applied Optoelectronics by 36.0% in the second quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 17,000 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $437,000 after acquiring an additional 4,500 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. grew its position in Applied Optoelectronics by 50.0% in the second quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 60,817 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $1,562,000 after acquiring an additional 20,261 shares in the last quarter. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP bought a new position in Applied Optoelectronics in the second quarter valued at $952,000. 61.70% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.