WINTON GROUP Ltd Purchases Shares of 12,239 Applied Optoelectronics, Inc. $AAOI

Key Points

• WINTON GROUP Ltd. purchased 12,239 shares of Applied Optoelectronics valued at approximately $1.81 million, contributing to institutional and hedge-fund ownership of 61.7% of the company.
• Applied Optoelectronics beat quarterly earnings expectations, reporting $0.06 EPS versus $0.02 forecast and $191.92 million in revenue, up 86.3% year over year. The company is expanding capacity for high-speed 800G and 1.6T optical products to capitalize on AI data-center demand.
• AAOI faces mixed signals: insiders sold approximately $14 million of stock over the past 90 days, while analysts’ average rating remains Hold with a $139.40 price target; the shares recently traded at $105.36.

WINTON GROUP Ltd purchased a new stake in Applied Optoelectronics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AAOI - Free Report) during the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 12,239 shares of the semiconductor company's stock, valued at approximately $1,813,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC acquired a new stake in Applied Optoelectronics in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $58,000. Allworth Financial LP grew its holdings in shares of Applied Optoelectronics by 68.8% in the 2nd quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 596 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $88,000 after acquiring an additional 243 shares in the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System raised its holdings in Applied Optoelectronics by 14.3% during the second quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 20,361 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $3,017,000 after acquiring an additional 2,544 shares in the last quarter. Nykredit A S acquired a new position in Applied Optoelectronics during the second quarter valued at approximately $362,000. Finally, Amundi bought a new position in Applied Optoelectronics in the second quarter valued at approximately $965,000. 61.70% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Applied Optoelectronics Stock Performance

Applied Optoelectronics stock opened at $105.36 on Friday. The business's 50-day moving average price is $114.43 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $131.36. The stock has a market cap of $8.91 billion, a PE ratio of -135.08 and a beta of 3.79. Applied Optoelectronics, Inc. has a 12-month low of $18.50 and a 12-month high of $233.67. The company has a quick ratio of 2.13, a current ratio of 2.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12.

Applied Optoelectronics (NASDAQ:AAOI - Get Free Report) last issued 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. The firm had revenue of $191.92 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $190.48 million. Applied Optoelectronics had a negative net margin of 9.57% and a negative return on equity of 1.98%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 86.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted ($0.16) earnings per share. Applied Optoelectronics has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 0.110-0.260 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Applied Optoelectronics, Inc. will post 0.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Hung-Lun Chang sold 32,172 shares of Applied Optoelectronics stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $110.21, for a total transaction of $3,545,676.12. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 249,276 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $27,472,707.96. This trade represents a 11.43% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Stefan J. Murry sold 4,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $105.33, for a total value of $421,320.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 367,168 shares in the company, valued at approximately $38,673,805.44. This trade represents a 1.08% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold 98,501 shares of company stock worth $14,003,877 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 3.80% of the company's stock.

Key Headlines Impacting Applied Optoelectronics

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

• Positive Sentiment: Applied Optoelectronics is expanding capacity for 800G and 1.6T optical products as AI infrastructure investment drives demand for faster data-center connectivity. The growth opportunity strengthens AAOI’s competitive position against larger rivals such as Lumentum and Coherent. AAOI's Optical Networking Demand Rise: Can It Beat LITE and COHR?
• Positive Sentiment: The company is expanding its operating footprint through the acquisition of a Houston facility, a move that could provide additional manufacturing or operational capacity to support expected customer demand. Applied Optoelectronics Expands Operations with Houston Facility Acquisition
• Neutral Sentiment: Analysts and investors continue comparing AAOI with networking and optical-component peers, including Arista Networks. The comparison highlights the company’s AI-networking opportunity but also its smaller scale, losses and high valuation risk. Critical Analysis: Arista Networks versus Applied Optoelectronics
• Negative Sentiment: Chief Financial Officer Stefan Murry sold 4,000 shares worth approximately $421,000, while director Hung-Lun Fred Chang previously sold 32,172 shares worth about $3.5 million. Murry’s transaction was conducted under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plan and he retains a substantial position, reducing—but not eliminating—the bearish signal.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on AAOI shares. Needham & Company LLC dropped 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. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $178.00 price target on shares of Applied Optoelectronics in a research report on Tuesday, August 11th. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Applied Optoelectronics from a "sell (d-)" rating to a "sell (e+)" rating in a research note on Monday, August 17th. B. Riley Financial reissued a "neutral" rating on shares of Applied Optoelectronics in a research report on Friday, August 7th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised Applied Optoelectronics from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, August 8th. Three investment 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. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $139.40.

About Applied Optoelectronics

Applied Optoelectronics, Inc develops and manufactures fiber-optic networking products and components. Its offerings include optical transceivers, transponders, modules and related equipment used to transmit data over fiber-optic networks.

The company serves several communications markets, including data centers, telecommunications, broadband access and cable television. Its products support applications such as high-speed data transmission, cloud computing, network infrastructure and fiber-based broadband services.

Founded in 1997 and headquartered in Sugar Land, Texas, Applied Optoelectronics serves customers in North America, Asia and other international markets.

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