What happened
Shares of Applied Optoelectronics (AAOI +1.33%) rose 49.3% last month, according to data from S&P Global Market Intelligence.
So what
In January, the fiber-optic networking component maker sent share prices skyrocketing on the release of preliminary fourth-quarter results. February's presentation of the full quarterly report resulted in yet another surge, as the final figures hit or exceeded the top end of the preliminary report.
Image source: Getty Images.
Now what
Applied Optoelectronics' rise has only continued in early March, including a 7% jump today on nothing more than a bullish analyst report on head-to-head rival Oclaro (OCLR +0.00%).
All told, AOI investors have enjoyed a 125% return year to date and a triple in six months. The fiber-optic networking sector as a whole is bouncing back from a couple of slow years, ready to pounce on the next wave of telecommunications infrastructure upgrades. In particular, cellular network operators are preparing to roll out another generation of high-speed networking standards, requiring a lot of additional fiber-optic capacity to be added on the back-end of those hyper-connected cell towers.
The orders are already pouring in. Applied Optoelectronics may be looking back at a massive share price surge, but the stock still trades at a fairly cheap 14 times forward earnings.
This rally could keep going for a while.
