Applied Optoelectronics (NASDAQ:AAOI) Trading Down 4.8% - Here's What Happened

Key Points

• Applied Optoelectronics' stock price fell by 4.8% to $26.40, with a substantial decline in trading volume, dipping 65% from its average sessions.
• The company missed earnings expectations, reporting a loss of ($0.16) EPS compared to the consensus estimate of ($0.08) EPS, despite a 137.9% year-over-year revenue increase.
• Analysts' opinions are mixed, with a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $27.20, while some firms have recently downgraded their ratings.

Shares of Applied Optoelectronics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AAOI - Get Free Report) were down 4.8% during trading on Thursday . The stock traded as low as $26.89 and last traded at $26.40. Approximately 1,561,737 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 65% from the average daily volume of 4,474,236 shares. The stock had previously closed at $27.72.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have commented on AAOI shares. Northland Securities set a $30.00 target price on shares of Applied Optoelectronics in a report on Friday, August 8th. Raymond James Financial lifted their target price on shares of Applied Optoelectronics from $18.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, August 8th. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on shares of Applied Optoelectronics in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. They set a "peer perform" rating on the stock. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Applied Optoelectronics from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 9th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC initiated coverage on shares of Applied Optoelectronics in a research report on Friday, July 25th. They set a "buy" rating and a $32.00 target price on the stock. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $27.20.

Applied Optoelectronics Stock Down 2.1%

The stock has a market cap of $1.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -8.61 and a beta of 2.91. The company has a current ratio of 2.11, a quick ratio of 1.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $24.95 and its 200-day moving average price is $19.91.

Applied Optoelectronics (NASDAQ:AAOI - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 7th. The semiconductor company reported ($0.16) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.08) by ($0.08). Applied Optoelectronics had a negative return on equity of 10.60% and a negative net margin of 42.29%.The firm had revenue of $102.95 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $104.96 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted ($0.28) EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 137.9% on a year-over-year basis. Applied Optoelectronics has set its Q3 2025 guidance at -0.100--0.030 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Applied Optoelectronics, Inc. will post -1.18 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Applied Optoelectronics

In related news, Director William H. Yeh bought 14,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 13th. The shares were bought at an average price of $22.86 per share, for a total transaction of $320,040.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 249,819 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,710,862.34. The trade was a 5.94% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Hung-Lun (Fred) Chang sold 15,784 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $22.70, for a total transaction of $358,296.80. Following the transaction, the insider owned 256,326 shares in the company, valued at $5,818,600.20. The trade was a 5.80% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have acquired 44,100 shares of company stock worth $1,000,878 and have sold 30,784 shares worth $709,117. 4.50% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Applied Optoelectronics

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Rhumbline Advisers grew its stake in shares of Applied Optoelectronics by 1.1% in the 1st quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 61,017 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $937,000 after acquiring an additional 669 shares in the last quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Applied Optoelectronics by 497.5% during the second quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 962 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 801 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in Applied Optoelectronics by 85.9% during the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,785 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $46,000 after purchasing an additional 825 shares during the last quarter. Corebridge Financial Inc. boosted its position in shares of Applied Optoelectronics by 4.2% in the first quarter. Corebridge Financial Inc. now owns 21,096 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $324,000 after acquiring an additional 843 shares during the period. Finally, Ameritas Investment Partners Inc. boosted its position in shares of Applied Optoelectronics by 28.8% in the second quarter. Ameritas Investment Partners Inc. now owns 5,488 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $141,000 after acquiring an additional 1,226 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 61.72% of the company's stock.

About Applied Optoelectronics

Applied Optoelectronics, Inc designs, manufactures, and sells fiber-optic networking products in the United States, Taiwan, and China. It offers optical modules, optical filters, lasers, laser components, subassemblies, transmitters and transceivers, turn-key equipment, headend, node, distribution equipment, and amplifiers.