Aviat Networks (NASDAQ:AVNW) Raised to “Buy” at Wall Street Zen

Aviat Networks (NASDAQ:AVNW) was upgraded by research analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Saturday.

Other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports about the stock. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Aviat Networks in a report on Monday, December 29th. Roth Mkm decreased their price objective on shares of Aviat Networks from $41.00 to $38.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 4th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Aviat Networks from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, January 23rd. Citizens Jmp reiterated a “market outperform” rating and issued a $30.00 price objective on shares of Aviat Networks in a report on Wednesday, February 4th. Finally, B. Riley Financial reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $36.00 price objective (up from $35.00) on shares of Aviat Networks in a report on Wednesday, February 4th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $34.50.

Aviat Networks Stock Performance

NASDAQ AVNW opened at $22.80 on Friday. Aviat Networks has a 1-year low of $16.65 and a 1-year high of $27.02. The company has a current ratio of 1.85, a quick ratio of 1.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37. The company has a market capitalization of $294.12 million, a PE ratio of 20.36 and a beta of 0.82. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $24.08 and its 200-day simple moving average is $22.90.

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

Insider Transactions at Aviat Networks

In other Aviat Networks news, SVP Gary Croke sold 6,914 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $26.20, for a total transaction of $181,146.80. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 43,868 shares in the company, valued at $1,149,341.60. This represents a 13.62% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Pete A. Smith sold 17,086 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $26.33, for a total transaction of $449,874.38. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 358,747 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,445,808.51. This trade represents a 4.55% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 5.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Aviat Networks

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Pacific Ridge Capital Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Aviat Networks by 34.5% during the third quarter. Pacific Ridge Capital Partners LLC now owns 311,254 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $7,137,000 after acquiring an additional 79,774 shares during the period. White Pine Capital LLC boosted its holdings in Aviat Networks by 95.4% during the third quarter. White Pine Capital LLC now owns 54,926 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $1,259,000 after acquiring an additional 26,813 shares during the period. Acuitas Investments LLC boosted its holdings in Aviat Networks by 100.1% during the third quarter. Acuitas Investments LLC now owns 63,377 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $1,453,000 after acquiring an additional 31,700 shares during the period. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd bought a new stake in Aviat Networks during the third quarter valued at about $534,000. Finally, AlphaQuest LLC boosted its holdings in Aviat Networks by 69.2% during the third quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 3,810 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $87,000 after acquiring an additional 1,558 shares during the period. 78.62% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Aviat Networks

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.