Aviat Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:AVNW) Receives Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Aviat Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:AVNW) has been assigned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the six research firms that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 12 month target price among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $34.50.

AVNW has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Citizens Jmp restated a “market outperform” rating and set a $30.00 price objective on shares of Aviat Networks in a research note on Wednesday, February 4th. Roth Mkm cut their target price on Aviat Networks from $41.00 to $38.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 4th. Zacks Research raised Aviat Networks from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, January 23rd. Wall Street Zen upgraded Aviat Networks from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, March 14th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Aviat Networks in a research note on Monday, December 29th.

Aviat Networks Stock Performance

NASDAQ AVNW opened at $23.75 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $24.37 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $23.09. Aviat Networks has a 12-month low of $15.80 and a 12-month high of $27.02. The company has a market capitalization of $306.42 million, a P/E ratio of 21.21 and a beta of 0.84. 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 announced 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 company had revenue of $111.47 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $109.67 million. Aviat Networks had a net margin of 3.27% and a return on equity of 10.71%. Analysts anticipate that Aviat Networks will post 0.5 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Aviat Networks during the 2nd quarter valued at $28,000. Quarry LP acquired a new position in Aviat Networks in the 3rd quarter worth about $27,000. Potomac Capital Management Inc. bought a new position in Aviat Networks in the fourth quarter valued at about $43,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its position in Aviat Networks by 96.5% in the third quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 2,281 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $52,000 after purchasing an additional 1,120 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Comerica Bank boosted its stake in shares of Aviat Networks by 40.2% during the first quarter. Comerica Bank now owns 2,720 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $52,000 after purchasing an additional 780 shares in the last quarter. 78.62% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.