Ceragon Networks Ltd. (NASDAQ:CRNT) Sees Significant Drop in Short Interest

Key Points

• Short interest in Ceragon plunged by 49.3% in February to 222,970 shares (about 0.3% of shares outstanding), leaving a days-to-cover ratio of 0.6 as of Feb. 27.
• Several institutional investors either initiated or increased positions (including CSM Advisors, Private Advisor Group, First Wilshire, Squarepoint and Essex), and hedge funds/institutions now own about 13.31% of the stock.
• Analysts are mixed (three Buys, one Hold, one Sell) with an average rating of "Hold" and a $4 target, while the stock traded at $2.20 after a quarterly earnings miss (EPS $0.02 vs. $0.03 estimate) and revenue of $82.3M vs. $84.2M expected.

Ceragon Networks Ltd. (NASDAQ:CRNT - Get Free Report) was the recipient of a large decline in short interest in the month of February. As of February 27th, there was short interest totaling 222,970 shares, a decline of 49.3% from the February 12th total of 440,066 shares. Approximately 0.3% of the company's shares are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 403,425 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 0.6 days. Based on an average daily volume of 403,425 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 0.6 days. Approximately 0.3% of the company's shares are sold short.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ceragon Networks

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. CSM Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Ceragon Networks in the third quarter worth about $4,819,000. Private Advisor Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Ceragon Networks in the 3rd quarter valued at about $2,247,000. First Wilshire Securities Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Ceragon Networks by 23.6% in the 2nd quarter. First Wilshire Securities Management Inc. now owns 4,058,774 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock worth $9,985,000 after purchasing an additional 775,782 shares during the period. Squarepoint Ops LLC boosted its stake in shares of Ceragon Networks by 642.7% during the second quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 552,939 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock valued at $1,360,000 after purchasing an additional 478,489 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Essex Investment Management Co. LLC increased its holdings in Ceragon Networks by 36.9% during the third quarter. Essex Investment Management Co. LLC now owns 1,418,197 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock valued at $3,304,000 after buying an additional 382,058 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 13.31% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently issued reports on CRNT. Zacks Research lowered shares of Ceragon Networks from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a report on Tuesday, January 20th. Needham & Company LLC reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $3.00 price objective on shares of Ceragon Networks in a research report on Wednesday, November 12th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a "hold (c-)" rating on shares of Ceragon Networks in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $4.00.

Ceragon Networks Trading Down 2.7%

Shares of NASDAQ CRNT traded down $0.06 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $2.20. The company had a trading volume of 463,651 shares, compared to its average volume of 393,483. The stock has a market cap of $195.65 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.29 and a beta of 1.20. Ceragon Networks has a 52 week low of $1.82 and a 52 week high of $2.84. The business's 50-day moving average is $2.28 and its 200-day moving average is $2.23.

Ceragon Networks (NASDAQ:CRNT - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 17th. The communications equipment provider reported $0.02 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.03 by ($0.01). Ceragon Networks had a positive return on equity of 3.52% and a negative net margin of 0.62%.The company had revenue of $82.33 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $84.23 million. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Ceragon Networks will post 0.26 earnings per share for the current year.

About Ceragon Networks

Ceragon Networks Ltd. is a global provider of wireless backhaul solutions, specializing in high-capacity, low-latency connectivity for mobile operators and private networks. The company designs and manufactures a portfolio of microwave and millimeter-wave equipment that serves as a fiber alternative for carrying voice, data and video traffic between cell sites and core networks. Ceragon's solutions are engineered to support the rigorous performance requirements of modern 4G and 5G deployments, with an emphasis on scalability, reliability and efficient spectrum utilization.

The company's product lineup includes point-to-point and multi-point radio platforms, as well as software-driven network management tools that enable operators to plan, deploy and monitor end-to-end transport networks.

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