Applied Optoelectronics (NASDAQ:AAOI) Updates Q3 2026 Earnings Guidance

Key Points

• Applied Optoelectronics lowered its Q3 2026 EPS outlook to $0.11–$0.26, below the $0.27 analyst consensus, while revenue guidance of $255 million–$290 million brackets the $265.7 million consensus estimate.
• AAOI shares fell 3.4% to $124.22 during Thursday trading. The stock’s consensus analyst rating is Hold, with an average price target of $141.80.
• Insiders sold approximately 506,215 shares worth $87.4 million over the past 90 days, including sales by the CFO and a director; institutional investors and hedge funds own 61.7% of the company.

Applied Optoelectronics (NASDAQ:AAOI - Get Free Report) updated its third quarter 2026 earnings guidance on Thursday morning. The company provided earnings per share (EPS) guidance of 0.110-0.260 for the period, compared to the consensus estimate of 0.270. The company issued revenue guidance of $255.0 million-$290.0 million, compared to the consensus revenue estimate of $265.7 million.

Applied Optoelectronics Trading Down 3.4%

Shares of AAOI traded down $4.34 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $124.22. The stock had a trading volume of 15,005,061 shares, compared to its average volume of 10,545,610. The company has a quick ratio of 3.03, a current ratio of 3.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18. Applied Optoelectronics has a 52 week low of $18.50 and a 52 week high of $233.67. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $138.69 and a 200 day moving average of $117.41. The company has a market cap of $9.97 billion, a P/E ratio of -188.21 and a beta of 3.76.

Applied Optoelectronics (NASDAQ:AAOI - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The semiconductor company reported $0.06 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.02 by $0.04. Applied Optoelectronics had a negative return on equity of 4.64% and a negative net margin of 8.55%.The firm had revenue of $191.92 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $190.48 million. Applied Optoelectronics has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 0.110-0.260 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Applied Optoelectronics will post 0.6 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on AAOI shares. Raymond James Financial reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Applied Optoelectronics in a research report on Wednesday, June 10th. Rosenblatt Securities restated a "buy" rating and set a $220.00 target price on shares of Applied Optoelectronics in a report on Monday, June 22nd. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of Applied Optoelectronics in a research note on Tuesday, July 7th. Needham & Company LLC reduced their price target on shares of Applied Optoelectronics from $260.00 to $220.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Applied Optoelectronics from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Monday, April 13th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $141.80.

Insider Activity at Applied Optoelectronics

In other news, CFO Stefan J. Murry sold 33,000 shares of Applied Optoelectronics 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 sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 451,906 shares in the company, valued at $78,297,233.56. This trade represents a 6.81% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, 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 Cynthia Delaney sold 56,575 shares of Applied Optoelectronics stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $189.23, for a total transaction of $10,705,687.25. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 59,647 shares in the company, valued at $11,287,001.81. This trade represents a 48.68% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 506,215 shares of company stock valued at $87,409,447 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 3.80% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Applied Optoelectronics

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in AAOI. Persistent Asset Partners Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Applied Optoelectronics during the 4th quarter worth approximately $237,000. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System bought a new position in shares of Applied Optoelectronics in the fourth quarter valued at $238,000. Larson Financial Group LLC increased its holdings in Applied Optoelectronics by 14,222.0% during the third quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 7,161 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $186,000 after buying an additional 7,111 shares during the last quarter. Creative Planning acquired a new position in Applied Optoelectronics during the third quarter worth $218,000. Finally, Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank raised its position in Applied Optoelectronics by 43.4% during the third quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 9,128 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $237,000 after acquiring an additional 2,762 shares in the last quarter. 61.70% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.

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.

Continue following MarketBeat

Add MarketBeat as your preferred source on Google to see our latest stories in your feed.

Add As Preferred Source