Calix (NYSE:CALX) Raised to "Strong-Buy" at Wall Street Zen

Key Points

• Calix has been upgraded from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating by Wall Street Zen, reflecting increased confidence among analysts.
• The company reported $0.33 earnings per share for the latest quarter, significantly beating the consensus estimate of ($0.08) and indicating a 22.1% year-over-year revenue increase.
• Calix's board approved a $100 million share repurchase plan, signaling management's belief that its stock is undervalued.

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Calix (NYSE:CALX - Free Report) from a hold rating to a strong-buy rating in a research note published on Saturday morning.

CALX has been the topic of several other research reports. Needham & Company LLC increased their target price on Calix from $60.00 to $70.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Roth Capital set a $50.00 target price on Calix and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on Calix in a report on Monday, July 7th. They issued a "peer perform" rating on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Calix from $38.00 to $52.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, July 17th. Finally, UBS Group reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Calix in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $59.25.

Calix Price Performance

Shares of NYSE CALX traded down $0.03 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $55.28. The company had a trading volume of 746,468 shares, compared to its average volume of 890,906. The company has a market capitalization of $3.61 billion, a PE ratio of -138.20 and a beta of 1.37. Calix has a 1-year low of $28.60 and a 1-year high of $57.90. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $49.79 and its 200 day simple moving average is $41.76.

Calix (NYSE:CALX - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 21st. The communications equipment provider reported $0.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.08) by $0.41. The business had revenue of $241.90 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $223.81 million. Calix had a negative return on equity of 3.21% and a negative net margin of 3.09%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 22.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.09 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect that Calix will post -0.43 EPS for the current year.

Calix declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase program on Monday, April 21st that permits the company to buyback $100.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the communications equipment provider to reacquire up to 4.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are typically an indication that the company's board believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity

In other Calix news, Director Carl Russo sold 25,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $39.59, for a total transaction of $989,750.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 2,139,188 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $84,690,452.92. This trade represents a 1.16% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Cory Sindelar sold 10,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $56.00, for a total value of $560,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 76,285 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,271,960. The trade was a 11.59% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 45,000 shares of company stock worth $2,069,750. Corporate insiders own 16.90% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Calix

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in CALX. Millennium Management LLC lifted its position in Calix by 77.8% in the fourth quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 2,031,212 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock valued at $70,828,000 after purchasing an additional 889,102 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its position in shares of Calix by 135.6% during the 2nd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 947,738 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock valued at $50,410,000 after acquiring an additional 545,490 shares during the period. Nuveen LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Calix during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $15,207,000. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Calix by 5.5% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 7,977,769 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock valued at $278,185,000 after acquiring an additional 412,982 shares during the period. Finally, Balyasny Asset Management L.P. lifted its position in shares of Calix by 711.5% during the 4th quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 436,036 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock valued at $15,205,000 after acquiring an additional 382,301 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.14% of the company's stock.

About Calix

Calix, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the provision of cloud and software platforms, and systems and services in the United States, rest of Americas, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and the Asia Pacific. Its cloud and software platforms, and systems and services enable broadband service providers (BSPs) to provide a range of services.