Radware (NASDAQ:RDWR) Trading Down 6.8% - Here's Why

Key Points

• Shares fell 6.8% on Friday to $23.92 (low $23.87) with ~181,176 shares traded, roughly 35% below the stock's average daily volume.
• Radware beat the quarter with $0.32 EPS vs. $0.30 expected and revenue of $80.25M (up 9.9% YoY), and its board authorized a $80 million buyback to repurchase up to 7.1% of outstanding shares.
• Analyst sentiment is mixed — Wall Street Zen upgraded to a "buy" while Weiss kept a "sell," leaving a MarketBeat consensus of "Hold" and a $30 average price target.

Shares of Radware Ltd. (NASDAQ:RDWR - Get Free Report) dropped 6.8% during trading on Friday . The stock traded as low as $23.87 and last traded at $23.9240. Approximately 181,176 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 35% from the average daily volume of 279,165 shares. The stock had previously closed at $25.66.

Analyst Ratings Changes

RDWR has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Radware from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday, April 4th. Weiss Ratings reissued a "sell (d+)" rating on shares of Radware in a research note on Friday, March 27th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group set a $25.00 price target on Radware in a report on Tuesday, December 16th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $30.00.

Radware Stock Performance

The stock has a 50-day moving average of $25.44 and a 200-day moving average of $24.87. The firm has a market cap of $1.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 52.47 and a beta of 0.87.

Radware (NASDAQ:RDWR - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 11th. The information technology services provider reported $0.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.30 by $0.02. Radware had a return on equity of 7.21% and a net margin of 6.71%.The business had revenue of $80.25 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $78.65 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.27 EPS. Radware's revenue for the quarter was up 9.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that Radware Ltd. will post 0.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Radware declared that its board has authorized a stock buyback program on Friday, February 13th that authorizes the company to buyback $80.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the information technology services provider to reacquire up to 7.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are generally a sign that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Russell Investments Group Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Radware by 47.5% during the 2nd quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 46,506 shares of the information technology services provider's stock worth $1,368,000 after acquiring an additional 14,980 shares during the period. Jump Financial LLC boosted its stake in shares of Radware by 126.5% during the 2nd quarter. Jump Financial LLC now owns 40,998 shares of the information technology services provider's stock worth $1,207,000 after acquiring an additional 22,898 shares during the period. Sei Investments Co. boosted its stake in shares of Radware by 23.5% during the 2nd quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 91,954 shares of the information technology services provider's stock worth $2,707,000 after acquiring an additional 17,501 shares during the period. California State Teachers Retirement System boosted its stake in shares of Radware by 3.5% during the 2nd quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 35,327 shares of the information technology services provider's stock worth $1,040,000 after acquiring an additional 1,190 shares during the period. Finally, PDT Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Radware by 27.1% during the 2nd quarter. PDT Partners LLC now owns 62,897 shares of the information technology services provider's stock worth $1,852,000 after acquiring an additional 13,402 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 73.12% of the company's stock.

About Radware

Radware Ltd. provides cybersecurity and application delivery solutions designed to ensure the availability, performance and security of mission‐critical applications. Its product portfolio includes on‐premises and cloud‐based offerings such as Alteon application delivery controllers, DefensePro network behavior analysis for DDoS mitigation and AppWall web application firewall. The company's platforms use real‐time behavioral analysis, machine learning and automation to protect against distributed denial‐of‐service attacks, application layer threats and network intrusions.

Founded in 1997, Radware is co-headquartered in Tel Aviv, Israel, with a principal U.S.

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