Applied Optoelectronics jumps as Q4 results beat expectations and Q1 revenue outlook comes in strong

Applied Optoelectronics (AAOI) is up 56.9% today. Here is some analysis on what might have caused this price movement.

Analysis: The move appears driven by an earnings-related repricing after the company posted a strong fourth-quarter report and issued first-quarter revenue guidance that came in above what the market was expecting. Investor enthusiasm also seems tied to accelerating data center demand and the company’s manufacturing ramp for higher-speed optical transceivers.

Details:

The company reported fourth-quarter 2025 revenue of $134.3 million, up year over year, alongside a much smaller non-GAAP loss than many analysts had modeled.

For first-quarter 2026, management guided revenue to $150 million to $165 million, signaling sequential growth and implying continued momentum into early 2026.

Management highlighted ongoing progress expanding manufacturing capacity, positioning the business for higher-volume production of next-generation data center products.

Market commentary emphasized rising demand for high-speed optical transceivers used in large-scale data centers, which can amplify upside reactions when guidance surprises to the upside.

Sources:

Applied Optoelectronics (press release), Investors.com, Benzinga

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 14 times in the past 6 months. Of those trades, 0 have been purchases and 14 have been sales.

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

DAVID C KUO (*** See Remarks) has made 0 purchases and 4 sales selling 44,500 shares for an estimated $2,045,440.
STEFAN J. MURRY (Chief Financial Officer) has made 0 purchases and 9 sales selling 32,000 shares for an estimated $1,461,067.
ELIZABETH G LOBOA sold 4,121 shares for an estimated $124,584

To track insider transactions, check out Quiver Quantitative's insider trading dashboard.

$AAOI Hedge Fund Activity

We have seen 155 institutional investors add shares of $AAOI stock to their portfolio, and 88 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
NEUBERGER BERMAN GROUP LLC removed 2,684,732 shares (-100.0%) from their portfolio in Q3 2025, for an estimated $69,615,100
PRICE T ROWE ASSOCIATES INC /MD/ added 2,188,630 shares (+5321.6%) to their portfolio in Q4 2025, for an estimated $76,295,641
JANE STREET GROUP, LLC added 1,644,757 shares (+4312.8%) to their portfolio in Q4 2025, for an estimated $57,336,229
D. E. SHAW & CO., INC. added 1,366,856 shares (+inf%) to their portfolio in Q4 2025, for an estimated $47,648,600
CITIGROUP INC removed 1,145,566 shares (-98.7%) from their portfolio in Q4 2025, for an estimated $39,934,430
CLOUDALPHA CAPITAL MANAGEMENT LIMITED/HONG KONG removed 1,078,750 shares (-100.0%) from their portfolio in Q4 2025, for an estimated $37,605,225

To track hedge funds' stock portfolios, check out Quiver Quantitative's institutional holdings dashboard.

$AAOI Analyst Ratings

Wall Street analysts have issued reports on $AAOI in the last several months. We have seen 3 firms issue buy ratings on the stock, and 1 firms issue sell ratings.

Here are some recent analyst ratings:

Rosenblatt issued a "Buy" rating on 12/19/2025
Needham issued a "Buy" rating on 12/11/2025
Northland Capital Markets issued a "Outperform" rating on 11/17/2025
B. Riley Securities issued a "Sell" rating on 11/10/2025

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 4 analysts offer price targets for $AAOI in the last 6 months, with a median target of $67.0.

Here are some recent targets:

Ryan Koontz from Needham set a target price of $80.0 on 02/27/2026
Mike Genovese from Rosenblatt set a target price of $125.0 on 02/27/2026
David Kang from B. Riley Securities set a target price of $54.0 on 02/27/2026
Tim Savageaux from Northland Capital Markets set a target price of $35.0 on 11/17/2025

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.