CommScope (NASDAQ:COMM) Rating Increased to Equal Weight at Morgan Stanley

Key Points

• CommScope has been upgraded by Morgan Stanley from an "underweight" to an "equal weight" rating, with a target price set at $17.00, indicating a potential upside of 17.16% from its previous close.
• The company reported a quarterly earnings per share of $0.44, surpassing analysts' expectations of $0.24, and achieved a 31.7% year-over-year revenue growth.
• Institutional investors own approximately 88.04% of CommScope's shares, reflecting strong interest in the company's stock from large investment firms.

Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of CommScope (NASDAQ:COMM - Free Report) from an underweight rating to an equal weight rating in a report issued on Tuesday, MarketBeat reports. The firm currently has $17.00 price target on the communications equipment provider's stock, up from their prior price target of $4.00.

Several other equities research analysts also recently weighed in on the stock. Wolfe Research assumed coverage on shares of CommScope in a research report on Monday, July 7th. They issued a "peer perform" rating for the company. Wall Street Zen lowered CommScope from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 13th. Northland Securities raised CommScope from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $12.00 target price on the stock in a report on Monday, August 4th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their target price on CommScope from $6.00 to $7.50 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 24th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, CommScope has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $14.75.

CommScope Trading Up 3.9%

COMM traded up $0.59 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $15.58. 11,571,269 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 9,514,530. CommScope has a 1 year low of $2.55 and a 1 year high of $15.74. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $8.04 and a 200 day moving average price of $6.02. The firm has a market cap of $3.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 5.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.44 and a beta of 2.38.

CommScope (NASDAQ:COMM - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, August 4th. The communications equipment provider reported $0.44 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.24 by $0.20. CommScope had a negative return on equity of 6.29% and a net margin of 16.61%. The firm had revenue of $1.39 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.27 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.34 EPS. CommScope's revenue for the quarter was up 31.7% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that CommScope will post -0.24 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On CommScope

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC acquired a new position in CommScope in the 1st quarter valued at $143,000. KBC Group NV acquired a new stake in shares of CommScope in the first quarter valued at about $65,000. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. increased its stake in shares of CommScope by 5.1% in the fourth quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 121,354 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock worth $632,000 after purchasing an additional 5,909 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc lifted its position in shares of CommScope by 986.1% during the 4th quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 204,549 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock worth $1,066,000 after purchasing an additional 185,716 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its stake in CommScope by 6.0% during the 1st quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 725,413 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock valued at $3,852,000 after purchasing an additional 41,286 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 88.04% of the company's stock.

CommScope Company Profile

CommScope Holding Company, Inc provides infrastructure solutions for communications, data center, and entertainment networks worldwide. The company operates through Connectivity and Cable Solutions (CCS); Outdoor Wireless Networks (OWN); Networking, Intelligent Cellular and Security Solutions (NICS), and Access Network Solutions (ANS) segments.