D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. Raises Stock Holdings in AudioCodes Ltd. (NASDAQ:AUDC)

D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. increased its position in AudioCodes Ltd. (NASDAQ:AUDC) by 19.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 190,338 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 30,611 shares during the period. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. owned approximately 0.63% of AudioCodes worth $1,854,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Blue Trust Inc. grew its position in AudioCodes by 151.8% during the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 3,624 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 2,185 shares during the period. R Squared Ltd acquired a new stake in AudioCodes during the 4th quarter worth about $97,000. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in AudioCodes during the 4th quarter worth about $120,000. Jane Street Group LLC acquired a new stake in AudioCodes during the 4th quarter worth about $406,000. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its position in AudioCodes by 2.8% during the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 52,309 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $509,000 after purchasing an additional 1,419 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.05% of the company’s stock.

AudioCodes Stock Up 1.1%

NASDAQ:AUDC opened at $8.96 on Thursday. AudioCodes Ltd. has a 52 week low of $7.70 and a 52 week high of $12.72. The stock has a market capitalization of $265.93 million, a PE ratio of 17.92 and a beta of 0.94. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $9.17 and its 200-day moving average price is $9.74.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have weighed in on AUDC. Barclays increased their price target on AudioCodes from $9.00 to $10.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. StockNews.com downgraded AudioCodes from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and set a $12.50 target price on shares of AudioCodes in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th.

About AudioCodes

AudioCodes Ltd. provides advanced communications software, products, and productivity solutions for the digital workplace worldwide. The company offers solutions, products, and services for unified communications, contact centers, hosted business services, Voice.AI, and service provider businesses. Its products include session border controllers, life cycle management solutions, VoIP network routing solutions, media gateways and servers, multi-service business routers, IP phones solutions, and value-added applications, as well as professional services.