Aviat Networks (NASDAQ:AVNW) Stock Rating Upgraded by Wall Street Zen

Key Points

• Wall Street Zen upgraded Aviat Networks (NASDAQ:AVNW) from a "hold" to a "buy"; overall there are four Buy and two Hold analyst ratings, with a consensus price target of $34.50 (average rating: "Moderate Buy").
• Aviat beat the latest quarter's estimates, reporting $0.54 EPS vs. $0.48 expected and revenue of $111.47 million vs. $109.67 million, while shares opened at $22.80 and the company has a market cap of about $294 million.
• Insider selling occurred recently: CEO Pete A. Smith sold 17,086 shares at $26.33 and SVP Gary Croke sold 6,914 shares at $26.20; insiders now own 5.30% of the company.

Aviat Networks (NASDAQ:AVNW - Get Free Report) was upgraded by equities researchers at Wall Street Zen from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note issued on Saturday.

Other analysts also recently issued reports about the company. Zacks Research upgraded Aviat Networks from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, January 23rd. Roth Mkm cut their target price on Aviat Networks from $41.00 to $38.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 4th. B. Riley Financial reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $36.00 target price (up from $35.00) on shares of Aviat Networks in a research note on Wednesday, February 4th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "hold (c-)" rating on shares of Aviat Networks in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Citizens Jmp reiterated a "market outperform" rating and set a $30.00 target price on shares of Aviat Networks in a research note on Wednesday, February 4th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Aviat Networks has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $34.50.

Aviat Networks Stock Up 0.5%

Shares of Aviat Networks stock opened at $22.80 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37, a quick ratio of 1.56 and a current ratio of 1.85. The stock has a market capitalization of $294.12 million, a PE ratio of 20.36 and a beta of 0.82. Aviat Networks has a 52-week low of $16.65 and a 52-week high of $27.02. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $24.08 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $22.90.

Aviat Networks (NASDAQ:AVNW - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 3rd. The communications equipment provider reported $0.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.48 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $111.47 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $109.67 million. Aviat Networks had a net margin of 3.27% and a return on equity of 10.71%. On average, analysts anticipate that Aviat Networks will post 0.5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Aviat Networks

In other news, CEO Pete A. Smith sold 17,086 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, February 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $26.33, for a total value of $449,874.38. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 358,747 shares in the company, valued at $9,445,808.51. This trade represents a 4.55% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Gary Croke sold 6,914 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $26.20, for a total value of $181,146.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 43,868 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,149,341.60. This trade represents a 13.62% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Company insiders own 5.30% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Aviat Networks

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of AVNW. Comerica Bank boosted its stake in shares of Aviat Networks by 40.2% in the 1st quarter. Comerica Bank now owns 2,720 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock worth $52,000 after buying an additional 780 shares during the last quarter. Royal Bank of Canada boosted its stake 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 stake 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 worth $1,629,000 after buying an additional 14,498 shares during the last quarter. Jane Street Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of Aviat Networks by 6.9% in the 1st quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 26,070 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock worth $500,000 after buying an additional 1,683 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Rhumbline Advisers boosted its stake in shares of Aviat Networks by 6.7% in the 2nd quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 18,341 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock worth $441,000 after buying an additional 1,148 shares during the last quarter. 78.62% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Aviat Networks Company Profile

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.

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