Applied Optoelectronics, Inc. $AAOI Shares Sold by Goldman Sachs Group Inc.

Key Points

• Goldman Sachs Group Inc. reduced its stake in Applied Optoelectronics, Inc. by 61.5%, selling 292,678 shares and leaving it with 183,449 shares valued at approximately $2.8 million.
• Insider trading activity includes CEO Chih-Hsiang (Thompson) Lin acquiring 3,250 shares, while insider Hung-Lun (Fred) Chang sold 15,784 shares on the same day.
• Analysts have a mostly positive outlook for AAOI, with four ratings of "Buy" and two of "Hold," as well as varying price targets, the highest being $34.00 from Rosenblatt Securities.

Goldman Sachs Group Inc. cut its position in Applied Optoelectronics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AAOI - Free Report) by 61.5% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 183,449 shares of the semiconductor company's stock after selling 292,678 shares during the quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. owned 0.33% of Applied Optoelectronics worth $2,816,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Rhumbline Advisers grew its stake in shares of Applied Optoelectronics by 1.1% in the first quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 61,017 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $937,000 after buying an additional 669 shares in the last quarter. Corebridge Financial Inc. grew its stake 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 buying an additional 843 shares in the last quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System grew its stake in shares of Applied Optoelectronics by 4.4% in the fourth quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 36,471 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $1,344,000 after buying an additional 1,524 shares in the last quarter. AlphaQuest LLC grew its stake in shares of Applied Optoelectronics by 243.9% in the first quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 2,297 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 1,629 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Arizona State Retirement System grew its stake in shares of Applied Optoelectronics by 15.9% in the first quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 13,036 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $200,000 after buying an additional 1,790 shares in the last quarter. 61.72% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on AAOI. B. Riley reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and issued a $15.00 price objective (up from $13.00) on shares of Applied Optoelectronics in a research note on Friday, August 8th. Needham & Company LLC began coverage on Applied Optoelectronics in a research note on Friday, July 25th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $32.00 price objective for the company. Rosenblatt Securities lifted their target price on Applied Optoelectronics from $30.00 to $34.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, June 26th. Northland Securities set a $30.00 target price on Applied Optoelectronics in a report on Friday, August 8th. Finally, Raymond James Financial lifted their target price on Applied Optoelectronics from $18.00 to $25.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, August 8th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $27.20.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director William H. Yeh purchased 4,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 14th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $21.40 per share, for a total transaction of $85,600.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 253,819 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,431,726.60. The trade was a 1.60% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Stefan J. Murry sold 12,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $22.37, for a total value of $268,440.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 298,477 shares in the company, valued at $6,676,930.49. This trade represents a 3.87% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders bought 44,100 shares of company stock worth $1,000,878 and sold 30,784 shares worth $709,117. Company insiders own 4.50% of the company's stock.

Applied Optoelectronics Stock Performance

Shares of Applied Optoelectronics stock traded down $0.72 on Tuesday, hitting $29.82. The stock had a trading volume of 1,566,122 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,514,524. Applied Optoelectronics, Inc. has a 52-week low of $9.71 and a 52-week high of $44.50. 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 has a market cap of $1.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -8.85 and a beta of 2.91. The company's 50 day moving average price is $25.07 and its 200 day moving average price is $20.34.

Applied Optoelectronics (NASDAQ:AAOI - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, August 7th. The semiconductor company reported ($0.16) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.08) by ($0.08). Applied Optoelectronics had a negative net margin of 42.29% and a negative return on equity of 10.60%. The firm had revenue of $102.95 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $104.96 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted ($0.28) earnings per share. 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, research analysts anticipate that Applied Optoelectronics, Inc. will post -1.18 EPS for the current year.

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.