AAOI slides 9.6% as $600M at-the-market program fuels dilution worries

Applied Optoelectronics, Inc. (AAOI) is down 9.6% today. Here is some analysis on what might have caused this price movement.

Analysis: The most likely driver is renewed selling pressure after the company put in place a large at-the-market (ATM) equity program, which can create a near-term dilution overhang. The drop also appears consistent with post-earnings digestion after AAOI’s recent surge, as investors weigh funding needs and execution risk tied to rapid capacity expansion.

Details:

Applied Optoelectronics filed a prospectus supplement describing an ATM program that can sell up to $600 million of common stock from time to time through designated sales agents.

The ATM filing used an illustrative assumed price of $223.10 per share (the last reported sale price on May 13, 2026) to show how many shares could be issued at that level, highlighting potential dilution depending on actual sale prices.

In its May 7, 2026 earnings release, the company reported Q1 2026 GAAP revenue of $151.1 million and GAAP gross margin of 29.1%.

The same earnings release provided Q2 2026 revenue guidance of $180 million to $198 million and non-GAAP EPS guidance ranging from a loss of $0.03 to earnings of $0.03, leaving room for investors to reassess near-term profitability.

Sources:

U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, Applied Optoelectronics Investor Relations

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 26 times in the past 6 months. Of those trades, 0 have been purchases and 26 have been sales.

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

ELIZABETH G LOBOA has made 0 purchases and 2 sales selling 106,468 shares for an estimated $9,925,189.
DAVID C KUO (*** See Remarks) has made 0 purchases and 5 sales selling 73,500 shares for an estimated $4,949,140.
SHU-HUA (JOSHUA) YEH (*** See Remarks) sold 50,000 shares for an estimated $4,854,880
HUNG-LUN (FRED) CHANG (*** See Remarks) sold 36,400 shares for an estimated $3,648,918
STEFAN J. MURRY (Chief Financial Officer) has made 0 purchases and 12 sales selling 44,000 shares for an estimated $3,096,227.
CYNTHIA DELANEY sold 21,000 shares for an estimated $2,058,344
WILLIAM H YEH sold 15,000 shares for an estimated $1,586,338
MIN-CHU (MIKE) CHEN has made 0 purchases and 2 sales selling 11,335 shares for an estimated $1,203,016.
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.

EARLY ACCESS

Receive AAOI Data Alerts

Real-time alerts on filings, insider trades, and market signals — before everyone else.

Get Alerts →

$AAOI Hedge Fund Activity

We have seen 265 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 2 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
Needham issued a "Buy" rating on 12/11/2025

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 05/08/2026
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.