Aviat Networks (NASDAQ:AVNW) Downgraded to “Hold” Rating by Wall Street Zen

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

Several other equities research analysts also recently weighed in on the company. B. Riley Securities restated a “buy” rating and set a $36.00 price target (up previously from $35.00) on shares of Aviat Networks in a report on Wednesday. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Aviat Networks in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Lake Street Capital reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $34.00 target price on shares of Aviat Networks in a report on Wednesday, November 5th. Roth Mkm decreased their price target on shares of Aviat Networks from $41.00 to $38.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Citizens Jmp reissued a “market outperform” rating and issued a $30.00 price objective on shares of Aviat Networks in a research report on Wednesday. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $34.80.

Aviat Networks Price Performance

Shares of AVNW opened at $26.36 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $340.04 million, a P/E ratio of 23.54 and a beta of 0.96. Aviat Networks has a fifty-two week low of $15.80 and a fifty-two week high of $27.02. The company has a quick ratio of 1.51, a current ratio of 1.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $21.76 and its 200 day moving average price is $22.42.

Aviat Networks (NASDAQ:AVNW) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 3rd. The communications equipment provider reported $0.54 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.48 by $0.06. Aviat Networks had a net margin of 3.27% and a return on equity of 10.71%. The business had revenue of $111.47 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $109.67 million. On average, research analysts forecast that Aviat Networks will post 0.5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Pete A. Smith sold 5,350 shares of Aviat Networks stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $23.39, for a total transaction of $125,136.50. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 349,447 shares in the company, valued at $8,173,565.33. This trade represents a 1.51% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Bruce M. Taten sold 3,268 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $23.39, for a total transaction of $76,438.52. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 20,391 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $476,945.49. This represents a 13.81% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 5.30% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Aviat Networks

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in Aviat Networks by 1.2% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 700,233 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $16,056,000 after buying an additional 8,179 shares during the period. First Wilshire Securities Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Aviat Networks by 22.2% during the second quarter. First Wilshire Securities Management Inc. now owns 531,398 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $12,780,000 after acquiring an additional 96,367 shares during the last quarter. Western Standard LLC increased its holdings in shares of Aviat Networks by 84.5% in the 4th quarter. Western Standard LLC now owns 494,238 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $10,567,000 after acquiring an additional 226,332 shares during the period. Kennedy Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Aviat Networks by 5.8% in the 3rd quarter. Kennedy Capital Management LLC now owns 445,947 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $10,226,000 after acquiring an additional 24,284 shares during the period. Finally, First Eagle Investment Management LLC raised its position in Aviat Networks by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC now owns 380,356 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $8,722,000 after purchasing an additional 1,807 shares during the last quarter. 78.62% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Aviat Networks

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.