Aviat Networks (NASDAQ:AVNW) CEO Sells $280,858.16 in Stock

Aviat Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:AVNW) CEO Pete Smith sold 14,264 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $19.69, for a total transaction of $280,858.16. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 367,840 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,242,769.60. The trade was a 3.73% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website.

Aviat Networks Stock Performance

Shares of Aviat Networks stock opened at $19.32 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $247.30 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 101.68 and a beta of 0.70. Aviat Networks, Inc. has a twelve month low of $13.92 and a twelve month high of $27.02. The company’s fifty day moving average is $20.85 and its 200 day moving average is $21.15. The company has a quick ratio of 1.66, a current ratio of 1.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33.

Aviat Networks (NASDAQ:AVNW) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, August 27th. The communications equipment provider reported $0.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.55 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $120.89 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $110.12 million. Aviat Networks had a return on equity of 5.85% and a net margin of 0.58%. Sell-side analysts forecast that Aviat Networks, Inc. will post 2.24 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently commented on AVNW. B Riley reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Aviat Networks in a research note on Friday, August 28th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Aviat Networks from a “sell (d)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a report on Thursday, August 27th. Craig Hallum initiated coverage on shares of Aviat Networks in a research report on Tuesday, June 30th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $36.00 price target on the stock. Rafferty Capital Markets assumed coverage on shares of Aviat Networks in a research note on Tuesday, June 30th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $36.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Citigroup reiterated a “market outperform” rating on shares of Aviat Networks in a research report on Friday, August 28th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Aviat Networks currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $32.71.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Aviat Networks

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in Aviat Networks by 1.2% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 700,233 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $16,056,000 after purchasing an additional 8,179 shares during the period. Tieton Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Aviat Networks in the second quarter valued at $15,017,000. Royce & Associates LP grew its holdings in shares of Aviat Networks by 8.5% during the fourth quarter. Royce & Associates LP now owns 648,235 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $13,859,000 after buying an additional 51,000 shares during the last quarter. First Wilshire Securities Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Aviat Networks by 1.0% during the first quarter. First Wilshire Securities Management Inc. now owns 529,533 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $11,973,000 after buying an additional 5,302 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Western Standard LLC increased its position 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 acquiring an additional 226,332 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 78.62% of the company’s stock.

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.