Handelsbanken Fonder AB Makes New Investment in Applied Optoelectronics, Inc. $AAOI

Key Points

• Handelsbanken Fonder AB initiated a position in Applied Optoelectronics, purchasing 52,100 shares worth approximately $7.7 million. Institutional investors and hedge funds collectively own 61.7% of the company.
• Analyst sentiment is mixed, with three Buy, two Hold and one Sell rating; the consensus rating is Hold with a $139.40 price target. Recent targets range from $178 to $220, although Needham reduced its target from $220 to $190.
• Applied Optoelectronics reported quarterly EPS of $0.06 versus expectations of $0.02, while revenue rose 86.3% year over year to $191.92 million. However, insiders sold 506,215 shares worth about $87.4 million over the past 90 days, and the stock recently traded down 5.8%.

Handelsbanken Fonder AB bought a new position in shares of Applied Optoelectronics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AAOI - Free Report) in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 52,100 shares of the semiconductor company's stock, valued at approximately $7,719,000. Handelsbanken Fonder AB owned approximately 0.06% of Applied Optoelectronics as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of AAOI. Allworth Financial LP grew its stake in shares of Applied Optoelectronics by 1,923.7% in the fourth quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 769 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 731 shares in the last quarter. Comerica Bank acquired a new stake in Applied Optoelectronics in the 3rd quarter worth about $28,000. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. raised its stake in Applied Optoelectronics by 166.7% in the 4th quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 1,200 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 750 shares in the last quarter. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC bought a new stake in Applied Optoelectronics in the 4th quarter valued at about $55,000. Finally, Headlands Technologies LLC bought a new stake in Applied Optoelectronics in the 2nd quarter valued at about $57,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 61.70% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently commented on AAOI shares. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Applied Optoelectronics from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, August 8th. Raymond James Financial reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $178.00 price target on shares of Applied Optoelectronics in a research report on Tuesday. Needham & Company LLC lowered their price objective on Applied Optoelectronics from $220.00 to $190.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 7th. B. Riley Financial restated a "neutral" rating on shares of Applied Optoelectronics in a research note on Friday, August 7th. Finally, Rosenblatt Securities reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $220.00 target price on shares of Applied Optoelectronics in a research report on Friday, August 7th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Applied Optoelectronics presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $139.40.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Stefan J. Murry sold 33,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 451,906 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $78,297,233.56. This represents a 6.81% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through 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 the firm's 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 approximately $11,287,001.81. The trade was a 48.68% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 506,215 shares of company stock valued at $87,409,447. Corporate insiders own 3.80% of the company's stock.

Applied Optoelectronics Trading Down 5.8%

Shares of AAOI stock opened at $130.08 on Friday. Applied Optoelectronics, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $18.50 and a fifty-two week high of $233.67. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $132.54 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $121.42. 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 company has a market cap of $11.00 billion, a PE ratio of -166.77 and a beta of 3.76.

Applied Optoelectronics (NASDAQ:AAOI - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The semiconductor company reported $0.06 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $190.48 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned ($0.16) EPS. 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. Equities analysts predict that Applied Optoelectronics, Inc. will post 0.6 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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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