Astronics (NASDAQ:ATRO) Shares Gap Up - Here's Why

Shares of Astronics Corporation (NASDAQ:ATRO - Get Free Report) gapped up prior to trading on Friday . The stock had previously closed at $31.09, but opened at $32.85. Astronics shares last traded at $34.66, with a volume of 365,787 shares traded.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have commented on the stock. Truist Financial raised shares of Astronics from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $49.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Friday. Wall Street Zen lowered Astronics from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 21st.

Astronics Stock Performance

The company's 50-day moving average is $31.65 and its two-hundred day moving average is $24.40. The company has a quick ratio of 1.49, a current ratio of 2.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60. The company has a market cap of $1.27 billion, a P/E ratio of -298.14 and a beta of 1.55.

Astronics (NASDAQ:ATRO - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, May 6th. The aerospace company reported $0.44 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.25 by $0.19. The firm had revenue of $205.94 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $192.53 million. Astronics had a negative net margin of 0.43% and a positive return on equity of 18.45%. Equities analysts predict that Astronics Corporation will post 0.82 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its holdings in Astronics by 16.4% during the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 108,231 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $1,727,000 after purchasing an additional 15,242 shares during the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Astronics in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $178,000. AlphaQuest LLC lifted its stake in shares of Astronics by 355.5% during the 4th quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 3,576 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $57,000 after buying an additional 2,791 shares in the last quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. bought a new position in Astronics in the 4th quarter worth approximately $776,000. Finally, Swiss National Bank boosted its holdings in Astronics by 2.2% in the 4th quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 54,800 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $875,000 after buying an additional 1,200 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 56.68% of the company's stock.

About Astronics

Astronics Corporation, through its subsidiaries, designs and manufactures products for the aerospace, defense, and electronics industries in the United States, rest of North America, Asia, Europe, South America, and internationally. The company operates in two segments, Aerospace and Test Systems. The Aerospace segment offers lighting and safety systems, electrical power generation systems, distribution and seat motions systems, aircraft structures, avionics products, system certification, and other products.