Bandwidth (NASDAQ:BAND) Sets New 1-Year High - Time to Buy?

Key Points

• 52-week high: Bandwidth (BAND) traded as high as $24.42 and last at $24.13, well above its 50-day ($16.19) and 200-day ($15.27) moving averages, with a market cap around $757 million.
• Analyst sentiment mixed: B. Riley raised its target to $27 with a "buy" rating while other firms range from "hold" to "sell", leaving a consensus of Moderate Buy and an average target of $24.75.
• Insider sale & fundamentals: The CFO sold 17,026 shares (cutting his stake by 24.4%), the company shows a negative PE (-56.11) indicating it is unprofitable, and institutions own about 68.5% of the stock.

Bandwidth Inc. (NASDAQ:BAND - Get Free Report) shares hit a new 52-week high during trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $24.42 and last traded at $24.13, with a volume of 993245 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $23.01.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have commented on BAND shares. B. Riley Financial raised their price objective on Bandwidth from $20.00 to $27.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday. Wall Street Zen lowered Bandwidth from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Sunday. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of Bandwidth in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $24.75.

Bandwidth Price Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $757.44 million, a PE ratio of -56.11 and a beta of 2.03. The stock's 50 day moving average is $16.19 and its two-hundred day moving average is $15.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a quick ratio of 1.42 and a current ratio of 1.42.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CFO Daryl E. Raiford sold 17,026 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $15.47, for a total value of $263,392.22. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 52,745 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $815,965.15. This trade represents a 24.40% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 6.20% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of BAND. Rhumbline Advisers lifted its stake in Bandwidth by 15.0% in the 2nd quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 40,927 shares of the company's stock worth $651,000 after purchasing an additional 5,324 shares in the last quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP purchased a new position in Bandwidth in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $128,000. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership lifted its stake in Bandwidth by 26.6% in the 2nd quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 373,153 shares of the company's stock worth $5,933,000 after purchasing an additional 78,360 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. lifted its stake in Bandwidth by 4.7% in the 2nd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 56,367 shares of the company's stock worth $896,000 after purchasing an additional 2,532 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jump Financial LLC purchased a new position in Bandwidth in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $221,000. 68.53% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Bandwidth Company Profile

Bandwidth Inc operates a cloud-based communications platform that provides voice, messaging and emergency services APIs for enterprises and developers. Through its proprietary network and software-as-a-service model, the company enables customers to integrate programmable voice calls, text messaging and 9-1-1 routing into their applications. Bandwidth's solutions aim to reduce complexity and improve reliability in mission-critical communications, serving industries such as healthcare, financial services, on-demand mobility and customer engagement.

Founded in 1999 in Raleigh, North Carolina by co-founders David Morken and Henry Kaestner, Bandwidth initially focused on voice-over-IP infrastructure before evolving into a full communications API provider.

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