Knowles (NYSE:KN) Shares Pass Above 50-Day Moving Average After Analyst Downgrade

Shares of Knowles Corporation (NYSE:KN) crossed above its 50-day moving average during trading on Monday after Zacks Research upgraded the stock from a hold rating to a strong-buy rating. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $36.41 and traded as high as $40.91. Knowles shares last traded at $40.7730, with a volume of 1,185,441 shares trading hands.

Several other brokerages have also issued reports on KN. Craig Hallum restated a “buy” rating and set a $38.00 target price on shares of Knowles in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Robert W. Baird increased their price target on shares of Knowles from $30.00 to $39.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Knowles has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $33.33.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Knowles news, VP Air A. Jr. Bastarrica sold 3,623 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $30.91, for a total transaction of $111,986.93. Following the sale, the vice president owned 47,569 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,470,357.79. This trade represents a 7.08% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, COO Daniel J. Giesecke sold 20,201 shares of Knowles stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $37.32, for a total transaction of $753,901.32. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 175,855 shares in the company, valued at $6,562,908.60. This represents a 10.30% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 173,058 shares of company stock valued at $5,809,156. 2.24% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of KN. Royal Bank of Canada increased its stake in Knowles by 27.0% in the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 70,073 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $1,064,000 after buying an additional 14,900 shares in the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Knowles by 4.5% in the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 51,722 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $786,000 after acquiring an additional 2,245 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC lifted its position in shares of Knowles by 7.1% in the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 238,557 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $3,626,000 after acquiring an additional 15,827 shares in the last quarter. Jane Street Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Knowles in the first quarter worth about $3,335,000. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Knowles in the second quarter worth about $1,255,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.35% of the company’s stock.

Knowles Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17, a current ratio of 3.27 and a quick ratio of 1.77. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $36.85 and a 200-day moving average of $29.28. The stock has a market cap of $3.47 billion, a PE ratio of 63.32 and a beta of 1.59.

Knowles (NYSE:KN) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 23rd. The communications equipment provider reported $0.27 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.24 by $0.03. Knowles had a return on equity of 10.66% and a net margin of 9.10%.The company had revenue of $153.10 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $147.40 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.18 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 15.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Knowles has set its Q2 2026 guidance at 0.280-0.320 EPS. Research analysts predict that Knowles Corporation will post 0.94 EPS for the current year.

About Knowles

Knowles Corporation (NYSE: KN) is a leading developer and manufacturer of advanced micro-acoustic, audio processing and precision device solutions. The company’s product portfolio includes microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) microphones, balanced armature receivers, acoustic filters, and custom audio processing integrated circuits. These solutions are designed to enable clear speech, enhanced voice capture and intelligent audio performance in a variety of end markets.

Founded in 1946, Knowles has evolved from its roots in vacuum tube components to become a pure-play audio technology provider following its spin-off from Dover Corporation in 2014.