Wall Street Zen Downgrades Avnet (NASDAQ:AVT) to Buy

Key Points

• Wall Street Zen downgraded Avnet from “strong buy” to “buy,” while the broader analyst consensus remains “Moderate Buy” with an average price target of $93.25.
• Avnet reported strong quarterly results, posting $2.28 in EPS versus the $1.80 consensus estimate and $8.30 billion in revenue, up 47.7% year over year.
• Shares opened at $106.93, near the company’s 52-week high of $108.63; meanwhile, the CEO and a senior vice president sold substantial portions of their holdings, while institutional investors own 95.78% of the stock.

Avnet (NASDAQ:AVT - Get Free Report) was downgraded by equities researchers at Wall Street Zen from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a note issued to investors on Saturday, Wall Street Zen reports.

AVT has been the subject of several other research reports. Weiss Ratings downgraded Avnet from a "buy (b)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a report on Thursday, September 24th. Zacks Research raised shares of Avnet from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Friday, August 7th. Truist Financial upped their target price on shares of Avnet from $95.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 6th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Avnet from $70.00 to $72.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a report on Monday, July 20th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have assigned a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $93.25.

Avnet Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ AVT opened at $106.93 on Friday. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $93.76 and its 200-day moving average price is $84.64. Avnet has a 1-year low of $44.25 and a 1-year high of $108.63. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.80, a P/E/G ratio of 0.31 and a beta of 1.06. The company has a current ratio of 1.78, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49.

Avnet (NASDAQ:AVT - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The company reported $2.28 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.80 by $0.48. The company had revenue of $8.30 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.56 billion. Avnet had a return on equity of 9.57% and a net margin of 1.21%.The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 47.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.81 EPS. Avnet has set its Q1 2027 guidance at 2.800-2.900 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Avnet will post 10.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Avnet

In other news, SVP Michael Ryan Mccoy sold 32,052 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $91.10, for a total transaction of $2,919,937.20. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 76,674 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,985,001.40. This represents a 29.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Philip R. Gallagher sold 51,900 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $98.46, for a total value of $5,110,074.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 168,923 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $16,632,158.58. This represents a 23.50% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders own 1.90% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Avnet

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Avnet during the second quarter valued at approximately $916,146,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in Avnet by 0.4% in the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 5,885,636 shares of the company's stock worth $362,655,000 after acquiring an additional 22,137 shares during the last quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Avnet in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $277,153,000. Norges Bank bought a new position in Avnet in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $62,393,000. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE lifted its position in Avnet by 6.4% in the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 1,166,847 shares of the company's stock valued at $71,901,000 after acquiring an additional 70,345 shares in the last quarter. 95.78% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Avnet Company Profile

Avnet, Inc is a global technology distributor and solutions provider that connects electronic component manufacturers with customers ranging from original equipment manufacturers and contract manufacturers to design engineers and startups. The company distributes semiconductors, interconnect products, passive and electromechanical components, and embedded computing products used in industrial, automotive, communications, aerospace and defense, healthcare, and consumer applications.

In addition to component distribution, Avnet provides engineering and design support, embedded systems, product customization, supply chain management, logistics, and other services intended to help customers move products from concept and prototyping through production.

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