Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio Makes New $3.26 Million Investment in Applied Optoelectronics, Inc. $AAOI

Key Points

• Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio acquired 21,995 shares of Applied Optoelectronics worth approximately $3.26 million in the second quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds now own 61.7% of the company.
• Applied Optoelectronics reported quarterly revenue of $191.92 million, up 86.3% year over year, and adjusted earnings of $0.06 per share, beating analyst expectations of $0.02.
• Analyst sentiment remains mixed, with an overall “Hold” rating and a consensus price target of $139.40; insiders sold approximately $41.4 million of stock over the past three months.

Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio acquired a new stake in Applied Optoelectronics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AAOI - Free Report) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 21,995 shares of the semiconductor company's stock, valued at approximately $3,259,000.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. EFG International AG bought a new stake in Applied Optoelectronics during the second quarter worth approximately $44,000. Persistent Asset Partners Ltd bought a new stake in Applied Optoelectronics in the second quarter worth about $47,000. Fiduciary Financial Advisors acquired a new position in shares of Applied Optoelectronics in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $48,000. Tema ETFs LLC bought a new stake in Applied Optoelectronics during the second quarter worth approximately $62,000. Finally, Allworth Financial LP acquired a new stake in shares of Applied Optoelectronics during the 2nd quarter valued at $88,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 61.70% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Applied Optoelectronics

In other news, insider David C. Kuo sold 29,227 shares of the firm'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 $4,867,172.31. Following the transaction, the insider 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, CFO Stefan J. Murry sold 4,000 shares of Applied Optoelectronics stock in a transaction on Friday, July 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $122.09, for a total transaction of $488,360.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 380,576 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $46,464,523.84. The trade was a 1.04% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last three months, insiders sold 250,382 shares of company stock valued at $41,373,027. Insiders own 3.80% of the company's stock.

Applied Optoelectronics Stock Up 5.1%

AAOI opened at $105.53 on Friday. Applied Optoelectronics, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $18.50 and a fifty-two week high of $233.67. The business has a 50-day moving average of $117.34 and a 200-day moving average of $129.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a current ratio of 2.78 and a quick ratio of 2.13. The company has a market capitalization of $8.92 billion, a PE ratio of -135.29 and a beta of 3.79.

Applied Optoelectronics (NASDAQ:AAOI - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The semiconductor company reported $0.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 business had revenue of $191.92 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $190.48 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned ($0.16) EPS. The firm'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 research analysts forecast that Applied Optoelectronics, Inc. will post 0.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on AAOI shares. Rosenblatt Securities reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $220.00 price target on shares of Applied Optoelectronics in a research note on Friday, August 7th. Needham & Company LLC decreased their price objective on shares of Applied Optoelectronics from $220.00 to $190.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 7th. Raymond James Financial reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $178.00 price objective on shares of Applied Optoelectronics in a research report on Tuesday, August 11th. B. Riley Financial reissued a "neutral" rating on shares of Applied Optoelectronics in a research note on Friday, August 7th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded Applied Optoelectronics from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, August 8th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $139.40.

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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