Aviat Networks, Inc. $AVNW Stock Position Lifted by Acuitas Investments LLC

Acuitas Investments LLC grew its position in Aviat Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:AVNW) by 100.1% in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 63,377 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 31,700 shares during the quarter. Acuitas Investments LLC owned approximately 0.49% of Aviat Networks worth $1,453,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Comerica Bank lifted its stake in 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 purchasing an additional 780 shares during the last quarter. Royal Bank of Canada lifted its position in shares of Aviat Networks by 290.7% in the 1st 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 boosted its holdings in shares of Aviat Networks by 20.6% in the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 84,954 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $1,629,000 after buying an additional 14,498 shares during the period. Jane Street Group LLC grew its position in shares of Aviat Networks by 6.9% during the 1st quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 26,070 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $500,000 after buying an additional 1,683 shares during the last quarter. Finally, White Pine Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Aviat Networks during the 2nd quarter valued at about $676,000. 78.62% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on AVNW shares. B. Riley Financial reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $36.00 target price (up from $35.00) on shares of Aviat Networks in a report on Wednesday, February 4th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Aviat Networks in a report on Monday, December 29th. Wall Street Zen raised Aviat Networks from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday. Zacks Research upgraded Aviat Networks from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 23rd. Finally, 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. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Aviat Networks presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $34.50.

Aviat Networks Price Performance

Aviat Networks stock opened at $25.45 on Wednesday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $23.89 and its 200 day simple moving average is $22.97. The company has a quick ratio of 1.56, a current ratio of 1.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37. The stock has a market cap of $328.31 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.72 and a beta of 0.84. Aviat Networks, Inc. has a 12-month low of $15.80 and a 12-month high of $27.02.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Aviat Networks news, CEO Pete A. Smith sold 17,086 shares of Aviat Networks stock in a transaction on Monday, February 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $26.33, for a total transaction of $449,874.38. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP Gary Croke sold 6,914 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $26.20, for a total transaction of $181,146.80. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 43,868 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,149,341.60. The trade was a 13.62% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders own 5.30% of the company’s stock.

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.