A10 Networks (NYSE:ATEN) Shares Gap Up After Strong Earnings

Key Points

• A10 Networks gapped up its shares to $19.10 after reporting quarterly earnings of $0.21 per share, exceeding analysts' expectations of $0.20.
• The company reported a revenue of $69.38 million, a 15.5% year-over-year increase, and analysts adjusted their price targets, with BWS Financial setting a new target of $24.00.
• Insider selling occurred, with General Counsel Robert Scott Weber selling 2,500 shares at an average price of $17.26, leading to a 3.94% decrease in his position.

Shares of A10 Networks, Inc. (NYSE:ATEN - Get Free Report) gapped up prior to trading on Wednesday following a better than expected earnings announcement. The stock had previously closed at $17.79, but opened at $19.10. A10 Networks shares last traded at $18.33, with a volume of 318,258 shares traded.

The communications equipment provider reported $0.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.20 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $69.38 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $65.99 million. A10 Networks had a return on equity of 25.46% and a net margin of 18.45%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 15.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.18 earnings per share.

A10 Networks Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 2nd. Investors of record on Friday, August 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.06 per share. This represents a $0.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.4%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 15th. A10 Networks's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 35.29%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ATEN has been the subject of several recent research reports. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "hold (c)" rating on shares of A10 Networks in a report on Saturday, August 2nd. BWS Financial reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $24.00 price objective on shares of A10 Networks in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Raymond James Financial initiated coverage on A10 Networks in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. They set a "market perform" rating for the company. BTIG Research upgraded A10 Networks from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $22.00 price objective for the company in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft initiated coverage on A10 Networks in a report on Friday, June 27th. They set a "buy" rating and a $22.00 price objective for the company. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $22.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other A10 Networks news, General Counsel Robert Scott Weber sold 2,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $17.26, for a total transaction of $43,150.00. Following the transaction, the general counsel directly owned 61,007 shares in the company, valued at $1,052,980.82. This trade represents a 3.94% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 1.15% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On A10 Networks

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of ATEN. Boston Trust Walden Corp bought a new position in A10 Networks during the first quarter valued at about $26,894,000. Penserra Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in A10 Networks by 56.2% during the second quarter. Penserra Capital Management LLC now owns 3,964,989 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock valued at $76,722,000 after buying an additional 1,425,792 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its holdings in A10 Networks by 390.9% during the first quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,130,119 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock valued at $18,466,000 after buying an additional 899,919 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. raised its holdings in A10 Networks by 184.7% during the first quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,045,406 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock valued at $17,082,000 after buying an additional 678,207 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP raised its holdings in A10 Networks by 364.8% during the fourth quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 683,711 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock valued at $12,580,000 after buying an additional 536,600 shares in the last quarter. 98.61% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

A10 Networks Trading Down 2.5%

The company has a market capitalization of $1.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.59, a P/E/G ratio of 4.00 and a beta of 1.35. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $18.49 and a 200-day moving average price of $18.17. The company has a quick ratio of 3.87, a current ratio of 4.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.07.

A10 Networks Company Profile

A10 Networks, Inc provides networking solutions in the Americas, Japan, rest of Asia Pacific, Europe, the Middle East, and Africa. The company offers Thunder Application Delivery Controller that provides advanced server load balancing; Thunder Carrier Grade Networking, which provides standards-compliant address and protocol translation services between varying types of internet protocol addresses; Thunder Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) Insight that decrypts SSL-encrypted traffic and forwards it to a third-party security device for deep packet inspection; and Thunder Convergent Firewall, which addresses multiple critical security capabilities in one package.