Stock Traders Purchase Large Volume of Applied Optoelectronics Call Options (NASDAQ:AAOI)

Applied Optoelectronics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AAOI) was the target of unusually large options trading activity on Tuesday. Investors acquired 32,682 call options on the stock. This represents an increase of 73% compared to the typical daily volume of 18,856 call options.

Applied Optoelectronics Stock Performance

AAOI stock opened at $113.90 on Wednesday. Applied Optoelectronics has a 1 year low of $9.71 and a 1 year high of $128.96. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -175.23 and a beta of 3.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18, a quick ratio of 1.91 and a current ratio of 2.63. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $64.16 and its two-hundred day moving average is $42.05.

Applied Optoelectronics (NASDAQ:AAOI) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 26th. The semiconductor company reported ($0.01) EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.12) by $0.11. Applied Optoelectronics had a negative net margin of 8.39% and a negative return on equity of 5.29%. The business had revenue of $134.27 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $131.56 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned ($0.02) earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 33.9% on a year-over-year basis. Applied Optoelectronics has set its Q1 2026 guidance at -0.090-0.000 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Applied Optoelectronics will post -1.18 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have weighed in on the stock. B. Riley Financial raised shares of Applied Optoelectronics from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $54.00 target price on the stock in a report on Friday, February 27th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Applied Optoelectronics from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, February 28th. Rosenblatt Securities restated a “buy” rating and issued a $50.00 target price on shares of Applied Optoelectronics in a research note on Thursday, February 19th. Northland Securities reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and set a $55.00 target price on shares of Applied Optoelectronics in a report on Friday, February 27th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Applied Optoelectronics in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Applied Optoelectronics currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $52.80.

More Applied Optoelectronics News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Company disclosed new hyperscaler orders for higher‑speed transceivers (including reported volume orders for next‑generation units and a separate 800G order), supporting revenue growth and execution on AI/data‑center demand. Optical networking stocks surge after Applied Optoelectronics reveal hyperscaler order AOI Receives New Order for 800G Data Center Transceivers
• Positive Sentiment: Large options and order‑flow signals: unusually high call‑option buying (32,682 calls) and a “Power Inflow” trading alert have drawn momentum traders and may have accelerated short‑covering. Applied Optoelectronics Shares Jump 12% After Key Trading Signal
• Positive Sentiment: Product momentum: company showcased AI/data‑center solutions and a full high‑speed transceiver portfolio at OFC, reinforcing adoption potential in AI optics markets. Applied Optoelectronics Showcases AI Data Center Solutions
• Neutral Sentiment: Recent quarterly results beat revenue and EPS estimates modestly and showed ~34% year‑over‑year revenue growth, but guidance includes a Q1 EPS range that is still cautious; this supports the growth story but keeps near‑term profitability uncertain.
• Neutral Sentiment: Market structure/ETF listing: a new leveraged ETF product that includes AAOI was launched, which can increase volatility and intraday flows but is not a fundamental change. Tradr Launches Leveraged ETFs on AMZN, AAOI, HL and IBM
• Neutral Sentiment: Short‑interest data in feeds appears garbled (reported as zeros/inaccurate), so while short covering is cited by some commentators as a driver, the publicly posted short‑interest figures here are unreliable — treat with caution.
• Negative Sentiment: Capital/dilution risk: filings and coverage note an increase in the company’s ATM equity capacity (reported raise from $250M to $500M), which gives AOI financing flexibility but raises dilution risk if fully tapped. QuiverQuant analysis mentioning ATM amendment
• Negative Sentiment: Insider selling: an SEC filing shows director/insider David C. Kuo sold 29,000 shares on March 19, which investors may view as a near‑term negative signal. SEC filing: insider sale

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CFO Stefan J. Murry sold 4,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $112.76, for a total transaction of $451,040.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 280,070 shares in the company, valued at approximately $31,580,693.20. This trade represents a 1.41% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Min-Chu (Mike) Chen sold 8,835 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $108.72, for a total value of $960,541.20. Following the transaction, the director owned 169,300 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $18,406,296. This trade represents a 4.96% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last three months, insiders sold 326,333 shares of company stock valued at $29,392,957. 4.50% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Applied Optoelectronics

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Invesco Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Applied Optoelectronics by 5,208.9% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,512,309 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $122,439,000 after buying an additional 3,446,150 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its position in Applied Optoelectronics by 5,321.6% in the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 2,229,757 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $77,730,000 after acquiring an additional 2,188,630 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley increased its position in Applied Optoelectronics by 157.1% in the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 1,699,855 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $59,257,000 after acquiring an additional 1,038,775 shares during the period. Hawk Ridge Capital Management LP raised its stake in Applied Optoelectronics by 106.2% during the 4th quarter. Hawk Ridge Capital Management LP now owns 1,700,900 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $59,293,000 after acquiring an additional 875,903 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Artemis Investment Management LLP acquired a new position in Applied Optoelectronics during the 4th quarter worth $26,923,000. Institutional investors own 61.70% of the company’s stock.

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.