Applied Optoelectronics surges after earnings report, optical peers follow

Shares of companies in the fiber optic/optical component sector are trading higher after peer Applied Optoelectronics (AAOI) reported preliminary fourth quarter financial results. WHAT'S NEW: Applied Optoelectronics, which makes fiber optic products for data center applications, reported preliminary Q4 results that bear top and bottom line expectations by a wide margin. The company reported preliminary Q4 EPS in a range of 77c-82c on expected revenue of $84.5M-$84.8M. Analysts were expecting EPS of 50c on revenue of $77.5M. MANAGEMENT COMMENTARY: "We delivered a strong fourth quarter with top and bottom-line results expected to exceed our guidance," said Dr. Thompson Lin, Applied Optoelectronics founder, president and CEO. "Accelerated demand for our market-leading datacenter products and increased capacity fueled our results. Additionally, we continued to drive manufacturing efficiencies, which contributed to a record gross margin. We are excited by the good close to the year and look forward to sharing the additional details of our fourth quarter performance on our conference call in February." PRICE ACTION: Shares of Applied Optoelectronics were up 18.31% to $26.88 per share in after-hours trading. OTHERS TO WATCH: Other companies in the space were also trading higher, including Finisar (FNSR), up 4.6%, and Oclaro (OCLR), up 3.56%.