Applied Optoelectronics (NASDAQ:AAOI) Hits New 1-Year High on Analyst Upgrade

Applied Optoelectronics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AAOI) reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Friday after Wall Street Zen upgraded the stock from a sell rating to a hold rating. The stock traded as high as $63.60 and last traded at $74.3660, with a volume of 495830 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $53.69.

Several other brokerages have also issued reports on AAOI. Northland Securities reiterated a “market perform” rating and set a $55.00 price target on shares of Applied Optoelectronics in a report on Friday. Rosenblatt Securities reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $50.00 target price on shares of Applied Optoelectronics in a research note on Thursday, February 19th. Needham & Company LLC increased their price target on shares of Applied Optoelectronics from $43.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Applied Optoelectronics in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. Finally, B. Riley Financial upgraded shares of Applied Optoelectronics from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $15.00 to $54.00 in a report on Friday. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Applied Optoelectronics presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $52.80.

Insider Buying and Selling at Applied Optoelectronics

In other news, CFO Stefan J. Murry sold 11,693 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.25, for a total value of $587,573.25. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 290,050 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $14,575,012.50. This trade represents a 3.88% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider David C. Kuo sold 17,467 shares of Applied Optoelectronics stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.17, for a total value of $876,319.39. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 111,663 shares in the company, valued at $5,602,132.71. The trade was a 13.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 66,520 shares of company stock valued at $3,080,367. 4.50% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Trending Headlines about Applied Optoelectronics

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

• Positive Sentiment: Q4 beat and revenue strength: AAOI reported a $0.01 loss per share vs. consensus -$0.12 and revenue of $134.3M, up ~34% year-over-year — both results topped estimates and underpinned the rally. MarketBeat earnings summary
• Positive Sentiment: Upside revenue guidance: Management raised Q1 2026 revenue guidance to $150M–$165M, above consensus, signaling continued demand — a key driver for investor optimism. GlobeNewswire press release
• Positive Sentiment: Bullish write-up highlighting large growth potential: 247WallStreet published a bullish piece framing AAOI as entering a “10x moment” with aggressive revenue projections that likely boosted speculative buying interest. AAOI’s 10x Moment
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst upgrade / target increase from Needham: Needham raised its price target to $80 and maintained a “buy” rating, lending institutional validation to the recent beat and outlook. Benzinga
• Neutral Sentiment: EPS still a small loss despite beat: The company reported a small GAAP loss but beat the much larger consensus loss estimate — a mixed data point for profitability progress. Zacks
• Neutral Sentiment: Conference call and detailed release available for off-cycle color: Investors should review the earnings call transcript and press release for product, margin and backlog details that will determine sustainability of the beat. Earnings call (Yahoo)
• Negative Sentiment: Some analyst targets remain below current levels: Northland reaffirmed a “market perform” with a $55 target and B. Riley’s $54 target (despite an upgrade to neutral) both imply sizable downside from current prices — a restraint on further upside until fundamentals confirm sustainability. Finviz Benzinga
• Neutral Sentiment: Short-interest data appears inconsistent: Public short-interest reports in the feed show zero shares/NaN changes (likely data errors) — ignore until verified; actual short-covering could amplify moves but current data is unreliable.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. CloudAlpha Capital Management Limited Hong Kong raised its holdings in Applied Optoelectronics by 410.7% in the 2nd quarter. CloudAlpha Capital Management Limited Hong Kong now owns 1,408,983 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $36,197,000 after acquiring an additional 1,133,115 shares in the last quarter. WT Asset Management Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Applied Optoelectronics during the third quarter valued at approximately $5,040,000. Squarepoint Ops LLC acquired a new position in shares of Applied Optoelectronics in the second quarter valued at $4,283,000. Citigroup Inc. raised its stake in shares of Applied Optoelectronics by 60.0% in the third quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 1,160,456 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $30,091,000 after purchasing an additional 435,349 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. bought a new position in Applied Optoelectronics in the third quarter worth $1,279,000. 61.70% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Applied Optoelectronics Price Performance

The stock has a market cap of $5.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -129.58 and a beta of 3.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 2.31 and a quick ratio of 1.63. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $42.16 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $32.59.

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.