7,927 Shares in Applied Optoelectronics, Inc. $AAOI Acquired by Pictet Asset Management Holding SA

Key Points

• Pictet Asset Management Holding SA opened a new position in Applied Optoelectronics, buying 7,927 shares worth about $276,000 in the fourth quarter. Other institutional investors also added to AAOI, and hedge funds/institutions now own 61.7% of the stock.
• Insider selling has been notable: CFO Stefan J. Murry sold 4,000 shares, and insider David C. Kuo sold 29,000 shares earlier this year. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold a combined 314,333 shares valued at about $29.3 million.
• Applied Optoelectronics reported 51% year-over-year revenue growth to $151.1 million, but still missed EPS and revenue estimates and issued second-quarter guidance below expectations. Analysts remain mixed, with the stock carrying an overall Hold rating despite strong demand for its AI/datacom optical products.

Pictet Asset Management Holding SA acquired a new position in shares of Applied Optoelectronics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AAOI - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 7,927 shares of the semiconductor company's stock, valued at approximately $276,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in AAOI. Comerica Bank acquired a new position in Applied Optoelectronics during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $28,000. Headlands Technologies LLC acquired a new position in Applied Optoelectronics during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $57,000. Wexford Capital LP acquired a new position in Applied Optoelectronics during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $95,000. CoreCap Advisors LLC increased its position in Applied Optoelectronics by 711.4% in the 3rd quarter. CoreCap Advisors LLC now owns 5,712 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $148,000 after acquiring an additional 5,008 shares during the period. Finally, Tower Research Capital LLC TRC increased its position in Applied Optoelectronics by 244.0% in the 2nd quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 6,832 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $176,000 after acquiring an additional 4,846 shares during the period. 61.70% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Applied Optoelectronics

In other news, CFO Stefan J. Murry sold 4,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, April 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $136.50, for a total transaction of $546,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 276,070 shares in the company, valued at $37,683,555. This represents a 1.43% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider David C. Kuo sold 29,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $100.13, for a total transaction of $2,903,770.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 82,663 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $8,277,046.19. This trade represents a 25.97% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 314,333 shares of company stock valued at $29,262,106 over the last 90 days. 3.80% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Applied Optoelectronics Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ AAOI opened at $148.94 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18, a quick ratio of 3.03 and a current ratio of 3.83. Applied Optoelectronics, Inc. has a 52-week low of $12.56 and a 52-week high of $191.87. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $119.57 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $64.55. The stock has a market cap of $11.95 billion, a P/E ratio of -225.67 and a beta of 3.76.

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 the consensus estimate of ($0.05) by ($0.02). Applied Optoelectronics had a negative net margin of 8.55% and a negative return on equity of 4.64%. The business had revenue of $151.14 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $156.98 million. During the same quarter last year, the company posted ($0.02) earnings per share. The company's revenue was up 51.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Applied Optoelectronics has set its Q2 2026 guidance at -0.030-0.030 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Applied Optoelectronics, Inc. will post 0.66 EPS for the current year.

Key Stories Impacting Applied Optoelectronics

Here are the key news stories impacting Applied Optoelectronics this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Revenue rose 51% year over year to $151.1 million, showing continued demand for Applied Optoelectronics’ AI/datacom products, and the company said it shipped its first 800G volumes to a hyperscale customer. Applied Optoelectronics Reports First Quarter 2026 Results
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst commentary pointed to a large Amazon backlog and strong 800G transceiver demand as reasons the stock has found support despite the earnings miss. Applied Optoelectronics inches up due to large Amazon backlog: analysts
• Neutral Sentiment: The company announced small inducement equity grants to two new employees under its 2023 equity plan, a routine hiring-related item with limited immediate financial impact. Applied Optoelectronics Announces Equity Grants To Employees Under Inducement Plan
• Negative Sentiment: Q1 earnings missed expectations, with a loss of $0.07 per share versus an estimated loss of $0.05 and revenue below consensus, raising concerns about execution and margins. Applied Optoelectronics (AAOI) Reports Q1 Loss, Misses Revenue Estimates
• Negative Sentiment: Second-quarter guidance also came in below Wall Street’s revenue and EPS expectations, which likely pressured the shares even after the strong top-line growth. Applied Optoelectronics stock page
• Negative Sentiment: Several market reports noted the stock dropping as investors rotated out of the AI optics trade, suggesting sentiment cooled across the sector after a rapid run-up. Applied Optoelectronics Crashes 14%, Coherent Slides 10%, Lumentum Falls 7% as Optics Trade Cools

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have issued reports on AAOI. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Applied Optoelectronics from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Monday, April 13th. Raymond James Financial restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $160.00 price target on shares of Applied Optoelectronics in a research report on Friday. Needham & Company LLC upped their price target on shares of Applied Optoelectronics from $43.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, February 27th. Northland Securities restated a "market perform" rating and issued a $55.00 price target on shares of Applied Optoelectronics in a research report on Friday, February 27th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of Applied Optoelectronics in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $79.80.

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.

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