Aviat Networks (NASDAQ:AVNW) Stock Rating Upgraded by Wall Street Zen

Aviat Networks (NASDAQ:AVNW) was upgraded by equities research analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Saturday.

Other research analysts have also recently issued research reports about the company. Citizens Jmp restated a “market outperform” rating and set a $30.00 price objective on shares of Aviat Networks in a research note on Wednesday, February 4th. Roth Mkm dropped their target price on Aviat Networks from $41.00 to $38.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 4th. Zacks Research raised Aviat Networks from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 23rd. B. Riley Financial restated a “buy” rating and issued a $36.00 price target (up from $35.00) on shares of Aviat Networks in a report on Wednesday, February 4th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Aviat Networks in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Aviat Networks has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $34.50.

Aviat Networks Stock Performance

Shares of AVNW stock opened at $24.62 on Friday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $23.77 and its 200-day simple moving average is $22.94. Aviat Networks has a 52 week low of $15.80 and a 52 week high of $27.02. The company has a current ratio of 1.85, a quick ratio of 1.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37. The company has a market cap of $317.60 million, a PE ratio of 21.98 and a beta of 0.84.

Aviat Networks (NASDAQ:AVNW) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 3rd. The communications equipment provider reported $0.54 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.48 by $0.06. Aviat Networks had a net margin of 3.27% and a return on equity of 10.71%. The firm had revenue of $111.47 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $109.67 million. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Aviat Networks will post 0.5 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Aviat Networks

In other news, CEO Pete A. Smith sold 17,086 shares of Aviat Networks stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $26.33, for a total transaction of $449,874.38. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 358,747 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,445,808.51. The trade was a 4.55% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Gary Croke sold 6,914 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $26.20, for a total value of $181,146.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 43,868 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,149,341.60. This represents a 13.62% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 5.30% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Aviat Networks

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Comerica Bank grew its position in shares of Aviat Networks by 40.2% during the first quarter. Comerica Bank now owns 2,720 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $52,000 after buying an additional 780 shares in the last quarter. Royal Bank of Canada increased its stake in shares of Aviat Networks by 290.7% in the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 40,874 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $783,000 after buying an additional 30,413 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Aviat Networks by 20.6% in the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 84,954 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $1,629,000 after acquiring an additional 14,498 shares in the last quarter. Jane Street Group LLC raised its holdings in Aviat Networks by 6.9% in the first quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 26,070 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $500,000 after acquiring an additional 1,683 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. boosted its stake in Aviat Networks by 9.1% during the 2nd quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 127,136 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $3,058,000 after acquiring an additional 10,651 shares during the last quarter. 78.62% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Aviat Networks Company Profile

Aviat Networks, Inc is a specialist in wireless transport solutions, designing, manufacturing and selling microwave networking products that enable the secure and reliable transmission of data, voice and video. The company’s offerings address mission-critical communications needs for a broad range of end markets, including telecommunications service providers, utilities, government agencies and enterprises. Its product portfolio spans high-capacity packet microwave radios, IP transport systems and network management software.

Aviat’s core product lines include the WTM series of packet microwave platforms, which deliver scalable throughput and advanced resilience features, and the Eclipse packet microwave systems, which combine broadband capacity with synchronization, security and quality-of-service capabilities.