Bandwidth (NASDAQ:BAND) Stock Price Up 9.9% Following Better-Than-Expected Earnings

Bandwidth Inc. (NASDAQ:BAND) shares were up 9.9% during trading on Thursday following a better than expected earnings announcement. The stock traded as high as $52.44 and last traded at $53.2240. 293,389 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 66% from the average daily volume of 873,741 shares. The stock had previously closed at $48.45.

The company reported $0.50 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.47 by $0.03. Bandwidth had a return on equity of 1.85% and a net margin of 0.27%. The company had revenue of $234.02 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $233.15 million. Bandwidth’s quarterly revenue was up 21.9% on a year-over-year basis.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on BAND shares. B. Riley Financial lifted their target price on Bandwidth from $55.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 9th. Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating on shares of Bandwidth in a report on Thursday, August 20th. Citigroup reissued a “market outperform” rating on shares of Bandwidth in a research report on Monday, July 20th. Zacks Research cut shares of Bandwidth from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, July 3rd. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised Bandwidth from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, October 17th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $59.29.

Insider Transactions at Bandwidth

In related news, COO Devesh Agarwal sold 4,869 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $49.15, for a total transaction of $239,311.35. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 79,138 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,889,632.70. The trade was a 5.80% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Daryl E. Raiford sold 4,673 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $49.15, for a total value of $229,677.95. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 35,832 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,761,142.80. This represents a 11.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 25,050 shares of company stock worth $1,228,342 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 5.26% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Bandwidth

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al purchased a new stake in shares of Bandwidth during the third quarter worth $425,000. Simplicity Wealth LLC purchased a new position in Bandwidth in the third quarter valued at about $202,000. Sterling Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Bandwidth by 850.0% in the third quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 988 shares of the company’s stock valued at $60,000 after purchasing an additional 884 shares in the last quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue increased its position in Bandwidth by 43.1% in the 3rd quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 1,262 shares of the company’s stock worth $76,000 after purchasing an additional 380 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Tidal Investments LLC acquired a new position in Bandwidth in the 2nd quarter worth about $1,451,000. 68.53% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Bandwidth Price Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $1.68 billion, a PE ratio of -177.53, a P/E/G ratio of 3.94 and a beta of 3.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 2.04 and a current ratio of 2.04. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $51.54 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $40.39.

About Bandwidth

Bandwidth Inc (NASDAQ:BAND) is a cloud communications company that provides application programming interfaces (APIs) and related network services for integrating voice, messaging and emergency communications into software applications. Its platform is designed for businesses, communications providers and technology companies that need to build communications capabilities into customer-facing products and internal workflows.

The company’s offerings include programmable voice, text messaging and toll-free messaging services, as well as emergency calling capabilities through its E911 solution.