Aviat Networks (NASDAQ:AVNW) Rating Lowered to “Hold” at Wall Street Zen

Aviat Networks (NASDAQ:AVNW) was downgraded by stock analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note issued on Saturday.

A number of other equities research analysts have also issued reports on the stock. Roth Mkm decreased their target price on shares of Aviat Networks from $41.00 to $38.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 4th. B. Riley Securities reissued a “buy” rating and set a $36.00 target price (up from $35.00) on shares of Aviat Networks in a research report on Wednesday, February 4th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Aviat Networks in a report on Monday, December 29th. Lake Street Capital reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $34.00 price target on shares of Aviat Networks in a research report on Wednesday, November 5th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded shares of Aviat Networks from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 23rd. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $34.80.

Aviat Networks Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:AVNW opened at $26.36 on Friday. The company’s fifty day moving average is $21.76 and its two-hundred day moving average is $22.39. The company has a market cap of $340.10 million, a P/E ratio of 23.54 and a beta of 0.96. Aviat Networks has a 12-month low of $15.80 and a 12-month high of $27.02. The company has a quick ratio of 1.56, a current ratio of 1.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37.

Aviat Networks (NASDAQ:AVNW) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 3rd. The communications equipment provider reported $0.54 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.48 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $111.47 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $109.67 million. Aviat Networks had a return on equity of 10.71% and a net margin of 3.27%. Equities analysts expect that Aviat Networks will post 0.5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Aviat Networks news, CEO Pete A. Smith sold 5,350 shares of Aviat Networks stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $23.39, for a total transaction of $125,136.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 349,447 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,173,565.33. This trade represents a 1.51% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Bruce M. Taten sold 3,268 shares of Aviat Networks stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $23.39, for a total transaction of $76,438.52. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 20,391 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $476,945.49. This represents a 13.81% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 5.30% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Aviat Networks

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Aviat Networks by 1.2% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 700,233 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $16,056,000 after acquiring an additional 8,179 shares during the last quarter. First Wilshire Securities Management Inc. lifted its position in Aviat Networks by 22.2% during the 2nd quarter. First Wilshire Securities Management Inc. now owns 531,398 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $12,780,000 after purchasing an additional 96,367 shares during the period. Western Standard LLC raised its stake in shares of Aviat Networks by 84.5% during the fourth quarter. Western Standard LLC now owns 494,238 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $10,567,000 after buying an additional 226,332 shares during the last quarter. Kennedy Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Aviat Networks by 5.8% in the third quarter. Kennedy Capital Management LLC now owns 445,947 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $10,226,000 after buying an additional 24,284 shares during the period. Finally, First Eagle Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in Aviat Networks by 0.5% in the third quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC now owns 380,356 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $8,722,000 after acquiring an additional 1,807 shares during the last quarter. 78.62% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Aviat Networks Company Profile

Aviat Networks, Inc is a specialist in wireless transport solutions, designing, manufacturing and selling microwave networking products that enable the secure and reliable transmission of data, voice and video. The company’s offerings address mission-critical communications needs for a broad range of end markets, including telecommunications service providers, utilities, government agencies and enterprises. Its product portfolio spans high-capacity packet microwave radios, IP transport systems and network management software.

Aviat’s core product lines include the WTM series of packet microwave platforms, which deliver scalable throughput and advanced resilience features, and the Eclipse packet microwave systems, which combine broadband capacity with synchronization, security and quality-of-service capabilities.