Applied Optoelectronics Target of Unusually High Options Trading (NASDAQ:AAOI)

Key Points

• Applied Optoelectronics saw unusually heavy options activity on Monday, with traders buying 77,943 call options, about 32% above normal volume.
• The stock jumped 5.8% to $171.23 on strong trading volume, while the shares remain far above their 200-day moving average and near the top of their 52-week range.
• Analyst and insider signals were mixed: recent price targets ranged widely, the consensus rating is Hold, and insiders sold shares in June to cover tax withholding related to equity awards.

Applied Optoelectronics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AAOI - Get Free Report) was the recipient of unusually large options trading activity on Monday. Stock traders bought 77,943 call options on the company. This is an increase of approximately 32% compared to the typical volume of 59,120 call options.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently commented on AAOI. Wall Street Zen cut Applied Optoelectronics from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Monday, April 13th. Needham & Company LLC raised their price objective on Applied Optoelectronics from $43.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, February 27th. B. Riley Financial upgraded Applied Optoelectronics from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $54.00 price target for the company in a report on Friday, February 27th. Northland Securities reiterated a "market perform" rating and set a $55.00 price objective on shares of Applied Optoelectronics in a report on Friday, February 27th. Finally, Raymond James Financial reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Applied Optoelectronics in a research note on Wednesday, June 10th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Applied Optoelectronics has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $113.80.

Insider Activity

In other Applied Optoelectronics news, CFO Stefan J. Murry sold 33,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, June 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $166.53, for a total transaction of $5,495,490.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 384,576 shares in the company, valued at approximately $64,043,441.28. The trade was a 7.90% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, insider David C. Kuo sold 29,227 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, June 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $166.53, for a total value of $4,867,172.31. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 149,078 shares in the company, valued at approximately $24,825,959.34. This trade represents a 16.39% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 500,215 shares of company stock worth $86,716,414. Corporate insiders own 3.80% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Applied Optoelectronics

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Shariaportfolio Inc. acquired a new stake in Applied Optoelectronics during the 1st quarter valued at $1,855,000. NewEdge Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Applied Optoelectronics in the first quarter valued at $723,000. BankChampaign National Association bought a new position in shares of Applied Optoelectronics in the first quarter valued at about $284,000. Janus Henderson Group PLC raised its holdings in Applied Optoelectronics by 23.2% in the 1st quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 29,755 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $2,518,000 after acquiring an additional 5,600 shares during the period. Finally, California State Teachers Retirement System lifted its position in Applied Optoelectronics by 23.2% during the first quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 70,464 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $5,961,000 after acquiring an additional 13,265 shares during the last quarter. 61.70% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Applied Optoelectronics Stock Up 5.8%

Shares of Applied Optoelectronics stock traded up $9.38 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $171.23. 14,380,297 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 10,591,102. The company has a 50 day moving average of $169.57 and a two-hundred day moving average of $97.59. Applied Optoelectronics has a fifty-two week low of $18.50 and a fifty-two week high of $233.67. The company has a current ratio of 3.83, a quick ratio of 3.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18. The stock has a market cap of $13.74 billion, a P/E ratio of -259.44 and a beta of 3.67.

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

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.

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