Applied Optoelectronics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AAOI) Stock Has Average Price Target of $139.40

Key Points

• Analysts have a mixed view of Applied Optoelectronics: three rate it a buy, two a hold and one a sell, resulting in an average “Hold” recommendation and a 12-month price target of $139.40.
• The company’s latest quarter exceeded expectations, with earnings of $0.06 per share versus the $0.02 consensus and revenue of $191.92 million, up 86.3% year over year.
• Institutional ownership is substantial at 61.7%, while insiders have sold 52,172 shares worth approximately $6.1 million over the past 90 days.

Applied Optoelectronics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AAOI - Get Free Report) has been assigned an average recommendation of "Hold" from the six analysts that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 12 month target price among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $139.40.

A number of research firms recently commented on AAOI. Needham & Company LLC lowered their price target on Applied Optoelectronics from $220.00 to $190.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 7th. B. Riley Financial reissued a "neutral" rating on shares of Applied Optoelectronics in a report on Friday, August 7th. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Applied Optoelectronics from a "sell (d-)" rating to a "sell (e+)" rating in a research report on Monday, August 17th. Rosenblatt Securities reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $220.00 target price on shares of Applied Optoelectronics in a research note on Friday, August 7th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Applied Optoelectronics from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 8th.

Insider Activity at Applied Optoelectronics

In related news, insider Hung-Lun Chang sold 32,172 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $110.21, for a total value of $3,545,676.12. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 249,276 shares in the company, valued at $27,472,707.96. This trade represents a 11.43% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Shu-Hua Yeh sold 6,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $147.73, for a total transaction of $886,380.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 377,498 shares of the company's stock, valued at $55,767,779.54. This trade represents a 1.56% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold a total of 52,172 shares of company stock valued at $6,092,409 over the last 90 days. 3.80% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Applied Optoelectronics

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Applied Optoelectronics in the 2nd quarter worth $955,672,000. William Blair Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Applied Optoelectronics during the second quarter valued at $74,703,000. Renaissance Technologies LLC purchased a new position in shares of Applied Optoelectronics during the first quarter valued at $47,817,000. Bank of America Corp DE purchased a new position in shares of Applied Optoelectronics during the second quarter valued at $33,712,000. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp bought a new stake in shares of Applied Optoelectronics in the second quarter valued at about $32,567,000. 61.70% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Applied Optoelectronics Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:AAOI opened at $115.59 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a quick ratio of 2.13 and a current ratio of 2.78. The firm has a market cap of $9.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -148.19 and a beta of 3.85. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $111.26 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $132.54. Applied Optoelectronics has a fifty-two week low of $18.50 and a fifty-two week high of $233.67.

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, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.02 by $0.04. Applied Optoelectronics had a negative return on equity of 1.98% and a negative net margin of 9.57%.The company had revenue of $191.92 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $190.48 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned ($0.16) earnings per share. Applied Optoelectronics's revenue was up 86.3% on a year-over-year basis. Applied Optoelectronics has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 0.110-0.260 EPS. On average, analysts expect that Applied Optoelectronics will post 0.55 earnings per share for the current year.

About Applied Optoelectronics

Applied Optoelectronics, Inc NASDAQ: AAOI develops and manufactures fiber-optic networking products used to transmit data across broadband, data center, telecommunications and wireless networks. Its portfolio includes optical transceivers, modules, lasers, components and networking equipment designed for high-speed communications infrastructure.

The company serves communications service providers, cable television and broadband operators, internet content providers, data center operators and telecommunications customers.

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