AAOI jumps as investors appear to revisit AI-optics growth story

Applied Optoelectronics (AAOI) is up 9.5% today. Here is some analysis on what might have caused this price movement.

Analysis: No clear company-specific announcement appears to explain today’s move, so the rally looks tied to renewed buying in AI-networking and optical-component names, along with continued interest in Applied Optoelectronics’ recent hyperscaler order wins and expansion plans. This could be because investors are refocusing on the company’s expected 2026 volume ramp in 800G and 1.6T transceivers after a recent pullback.

Details:

The company’s first-quarter 2026 revenue reached $151.1 million, its fourth straight quarterly record, and management guided second-quarter revenue to roughly $180 million to $198 million.

Management said demand remains strong for 800G and 1.6T products, with first volume shipments of 800G already completed and larger growth expected as more capacity comes online in the second half of 2026.

Recent announcements highlighted manufacturing expansion in the Houston area, including a larger footprint intended to support future growth in AI-focused optical products.

A mid-June filing also showed a subsidiary entered a new RMB 500 million credit line, which may be viewed as added support for working capital and production scaling.

Sources:

Applied Optoelectronics Investor Relations, SEC, MarketBeat

Disclaimer: This price movement analysis was generated with the help of AI. Please double-check the information provided for mistakes.

$AAOI Insider Trading Activity

$AAOI insiders have traded $AAOI stock on the open market 40 times in the past 6 months. Of those trades, 0 have been purchases and 40 have been sales.

Here’s a breakdown of recent trading of $AAOI stock by insiders over the last 6 months:

HUNG-LUN (FRED) CHANG (*** See Remarks) has made 0 purchases and 5 sales selling 148,359 shares for an estimated $22,818,079.
CHIH-HSIANG (THOMPSON) LIN (President and CEO) has made 0 purchases and 2 sales selling 117,000 shares for an estimated $19,874,350.
SHU-HUA (JOSHUA) YEH (*** See Remarks) has made 0 purchases and 6 sales selling 133,980 shares for an estimated $19,521,135.
STEFAN J. MURRY (Chief Financial Officer) has made 0 purchases and 13 sales selling 110,000 shares for an estimated $14,868,884.
CYNTHIA DELANEY has made 0 purchases and 2 sales selling 77,575 shares for an estimated $12,763,946.
DAVID C KUO (*** See Remarks) has made 0 purchases and 6 sales selling 109,454 shares for an estimated $12,645,707.
ELIZABETH G LOBOA sold 102,347 shares for an estimated $9,800,605
MIN-CHU (MIKE) CHEN has made 0 purchases and 3 sales selling 19,582 shares for an estimated $2,860,663.
WILLIAM H YEH sold 15,000 shares for an estimated $1,586,338
RICHARD B BLACK sold 3,231 shares for an estimated $306,945

To track insider transactions, check out Quiver Quantitative's insider trading dashboard. You can access data on insider stock transactions through the Quiver Quantitative API insider transaction endpoint.

$AAOI Hedge Fund Activity

We have seen 270 institutional investors add shares of $AAOI stock to their portfolio, and 117 decrease their positions in their most recent quarter.

Here are some of the largest recent moves:

INVESCO LTD. added 3,446,150 shares (+5208.9%) to their portfolio in Q4 2025, for an estimated $120,132,789
BLACKROCK, INC. added 1,885,897 shares (+35.5%) to their portfolio in Q1 2026, for an estimated $159,528,027
HAWK RIDGE CAPITAL MANAGEMENT LP removed 1,700,900 shares (-100.0%) from their portfolio in Q1 2026, for an estimated $143,879,131
D. E. SHAW & CO., INC. added 1,366,856 shares (+inf%) to their portfolio in Q4 2025, for an estimated $47,648,600
VALUE ALIGNED RESEARCH ADVISORS, LLC added 1,267,938 shares (+inf%) to their portfolio in Q1 2026, for an estimated $107,254,875
MORGAN STANLEY removed 972,289 shares (-57.2%) from their portfolio in Q1 2026, for an estimated $82,245,926
BNP PARIBAS FINANCIAL MARKETS removed 935,838 shares (-98.0%) from their portfolio in Q1 2026, for an estimated $79,162,536

To track hedge funds' stock portfolios, check out Quiver Quantitative's institutional holdings dashboard. You can access data on hedge funds moves and 13F filings through the Quiver Quantitative API 13F endpoint.

$AAOI Analyst Ratings

Wall Street analysts have issued reports on $AAOI in the last several months. We have seen 1 firms issue buy ratings on the stock, and 0 firms issue sell ratings.

Here are some recent analyst ratings:

Rosenblatt issued a "Buy" rating on 05/08/2026

To track analyst ratings and price targets for $AAOI, check out Quiver Quantitative's $AAOI forecast page.

$AAOI Price Targets

Multiple analysts have issued price targets for $AAOI recently. We have seen 3 analysts offer price targets for $AAOI in the last 6 months, with a median target of $80.0.

Here are some recent targets:

Mike Genovese from Rosenblatt set a target price of $220.0 on 06/22/2026
Ryan Koontz from Needham set a target price of $80.0 on 02/27/2026
David Kang from B. Riley Securities set a target price of $54.0 on 02/27/2026

This article is not financial advice. See Quiver Quantitative's disclaimers for more information. Note that there may be inaccuracies due to mistakes in ticker-mapping, and other anomalies.