Applied Optoelectronics (NASDAQ:AAOI) Stock Price Down 5.5% - Should You Sell?

Key Points

• AAOI shares fell 5.5% in Thursday trading, with volume below average as the stock moved from a prior close of $179.83 to around $170.
• The company’s latest earnings missed expectations: Applied Optoelectronics reported a loss of $0.07 per share versus estimates for a $0.05 loss, while revenue came in at $151.14 million, below forecasts of $156.98 million.
• Analyst sentiment remains mixed but cautious, with a consensus rating of Hold and an average price target of $79.80; meanwhile, insiders have sold shares recently, including a CFO sale disclosed for tax-related reasons.

Applied Optoelectronics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AAOI - Get Free Report)'s stock price was down 5.5% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The stock traded as low as $170.21 and last traded at $170.0090. Approximately 5,695,520 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 42% from the average daily volume of 9,847,798 shares. The stock had previously closed at $179.83.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have issued reports on AAOI shares. Raymond James Financial restated an "outperform" rating and set a $160.00 target price on shares of Applied Optoelectronics in a research report on Friday, May 8th. B. Riley Financial upgraded Applied Optoelectronics from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $54.00 target price for the company in a research report on Friday, February 27th. Wall Street Zen lowered Applied Optoelectronics from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Monday, April 13th. Rosenblatt Securities reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $50.00 price objective on shares of Applied Optoelectronics in a research report on Thursday, February 19th. Finally, Northland Securities reissued a "market perform" rating and issued a $55.00 price objective on shares of Applied Optoelectronics in a research report on Friday, February 27th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $79.80.

Applied Optoelectronics Stock Down 5.1%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18, a current ratio of 3.83 and a quick ratio of 3.03. The stock has a market cap of $13.69 billion, a PE ratio of -258.59 and a beta of 3.76. The business has a fifty day moving average of $143.58 and a 200-day moving average of $79.20.

Applied Optoelectronics (NASDAQ:AAOI - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The semiconductor company reported ($0.07) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.05) by ($0.02). The firm had revenue of $151.14 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $156.98 million. Applied Optoelectronics had a negative net margin of 8.55% and a negative return on equity of 4.64%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 51.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted ($0.02) EPS. Applied Optoelectronics has set its Q2 2026 guidance at -0.030-0.030 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Applied Optoelectronics, Inc. will post 0.6 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Stefan J. Murry sold 33,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $173.26, for a total value of $5,717,580.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 451,906 shares of the company's stock, valued at $78,297,233.56. The trade was a 6.81% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, Director Elizabeth G. Loboa sold 102,347 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $95.76, for a total transaction of $9,800,748.72. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 20,523 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,965,282.48. This trade represents a 83.30% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 459,324 shares of company stock valued at $59,068,951 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 3.80% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Applied Optoelectronics

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Cinctive Capital Management LP acquired a new position in shares of Applied Optoelectronics in the 3rd quarter valued at $800,000. Diker Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Applied Optoelectronics in the 3rd quarter valued at $519,000. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Applied Optoelectronics by 13.6% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 4,624,570 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $119,915,000 after acquiring an additional 551,910 shares during the period. AI Squared Management Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Applied Optoelectronics in the 3rd quarter valued at $5,043,000. Finally, Trilogy Capital Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Applied Optoelectronics in the 4th quarter valued at $235,000. Institutional investors own 61.70% of the company's stock.

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.