Wall Street Zen Upgrades Avnet (NASDAQ:AVT) to Strong-Buy

Key Points

• Wall Street Zen upgraded Avnet to “strong buy” from “buy,” while the broader analyst consensus remains “Moderate Buy” with an average price target of $93.25.
• Avnet reported strong quarterly results, with EPS of $2.28 versus the $1.80 consensus and revenue of $8.30 billion, up 47.7% year over year. The company guided for fiscal Q1 2027 EPS of $2.80–$2.90.
• Insiders recently sold shares, including the CEO and a senior vice president, reducing their holdings by 23.5% and 29.5%, respectively; institutional investors own 95.78% of the stock.

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

A number of other equities analysts have also recently commented on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Avnet from $70.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research report on Monday, July 20th. Truist Financial upped their price target on shares of Avnet from $95.00 to $110.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 6th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Avnet from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Friday, August 7th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised Avnet from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a research note on Friday, October 9th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have issued a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Avnet currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $93.25.

Avnet Stock Performance

NASDAQ:AVT opened at $90.03 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $7.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.56, a PEG ratio of 0.28 and a beta of 1.06. The business has a 50 day moving average of $95.43 and a 200 day moving average of $87.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a current ratio of 1.78 and a quick ratio of 0.97. Avnet has a 1-year low of $44.25 and a 1-year high of $108.63.

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

Insider Activity at Avnet

In related news, SVP Michael Ryan Mccoy sold 32,052 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $91.10, for a total transaction of $2,919,937.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 76,674 shares in the company, valued at $6,985,001.40. This represents a 29.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available 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. 2.00% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. USA Financial Formulas bought a new position in Avnet in the 3rd quarter worth $226,000. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Avnet by 225.6% during the 3rd quarter. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. now owns 814 shares of the company's stock valued at $83,000 after purchasing an additional 564 shares in the last quarter. Cyndeo Wealth Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Avnet during the 3rd quarter valued at about $256,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its position in shares of Avnet by 13.6% during the third quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 448,855 shares of the company's stock valued at $44,863,000 after buying an additional 53,648 shares during the period. Finally, Gunderson Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Avnet during the third quarter valued at about $213,000. 95.78% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Avnet

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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