David Kuo Sells 17,467 Shares of Applied Optoelectronics (NASDAQ:AAOI) Stock

Applied Optoelectronics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AAOI) insider David Kuo sold 17,467 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.17, for a total transaction of $876,319.39. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 111,663 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,602,132.71. The trade was a 13.53% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link.

Applied Optoelectronics Price Performance

Shares of AAOI stock opened at $43.99 on Friday. Applied Optoelectronics, Inc. has a 1 year low of $9.71 and a 1 year high of $50.80. The company has a current ratio of 2.31, a quick ratio of 1.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $37.23 and its 200-day moving average is $30.28. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -13.66 and a beta of 3.32.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AAOI has been the topic of several recent research reports. Rosenblatt Securities reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $50.00 price target on shares of Applied Optoelectronics in a report on Friday, December 19th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Applied Optoelectronics in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. Northland Securities set a $45.00 price target on shares of Applied Optoelectronics in a research report on Thursday, December 11th. Needham & Company LLC increased their price objective on shares of Applied Optoelectronics from $38.00 to $43.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, December 11th. Finally, B. Riley Financial reaffirmed a “sell” rating and issued a $15.00 price objective on shares of Applied Optoelectronics in a research note on Monday, November 10th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $35.60.

Institutional Trading of Applied Optoelectronics

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of AAOI. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Applied Optoelectronics by 497.5% during the second quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 962 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 801 shares during the period. Allworth Financial LP boosted its position in shares of Applied Optoelectronics by 1,923.7% during the fourth quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 769 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 731 shares in the last quarter. Comerica Bank acquired a new position in shares of Applied Optoelectronics in the 3rd quarter valued at $28,000. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. grew its holdings in shares of 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 valued at $42,000 after buying an additional 750 shares during the period. Finally, Pinpoint Asset Management Singapore Pte. Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of Applied Optoelectronics in the 2nd quarter valued at $49,000. 61.70% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Key Headlines Impacting Applied Optoelectronics

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

• Positive Sentiment: Analyst support remains constructive — several brokers have kept Buy ratings or raised targets this winter, providing a bullish backdrop that helps justify current valuation levels for AAOI. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Reported short‑interest headlines claim a “large increase,” but published values show 0/NaN and a 0.0 days‑to‑cover ratio — this appears to be a reporting error; no clear short‑seller pressure is confirmed until corrected data are posted. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Institutional ownership is high (~61.7%) and the stock is trading near its 52‑week high with the 50‑ and 200‑day moving averages well below current price — supportive technically but increases sensitivity to profit‑taking around these levels. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Insider selling by senior management: CFO Stefan Murry sold a total of ~18,020 shares across Feb. 10–11 (~$49–$50.25), trimming his stake. The SEC filing is posted. This kind of executive selling amid a price peak can weigh on near‑term sentiment. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Director David C. Kuo sold roughly ~20,000 shares across Feb. 10–11 (~$50 avg), a meaningful reduction in his holding; multiple insider sales in quick succession are being read as profit‑taking and are likely contributing to the stock decline. Read More.

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.