A10 Networks (NYSE:ATEN) Sets New 52-Week High After Earnings Beat

A10 Networks, Inc. (NYSE:ATEN) hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Tuesday following a stronger than expected earnings report. The stock traded as high as $20.01 and last traded at $19.87, with a volume of 3832 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $19.70.

The communications equipment provider reported $0.25 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.22 by $0.03. A10 Networks had a net margin of 19.29% and a return on equity of 22.69%.

A10 Networks Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be paid a $0.06 dividend. This represents a $0.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.15%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. A10 Networks’s dividend payout ratio is currently 35.82%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have weighed in on ATEN. Craig Hallum increased their target price on A10 Networks from $16.00 to $18.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday. StockNews.com upgraded shares of A10 Networks from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, BWS Financial restated a “buy” rating and issued a $24.00 target price on shares of A10 Networks in a research note on Wednesday.

Insider Buying and Selling at A10 Networks

In related news, EVP Karen S. Thomas sold 6,162 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $16.70, for a total value of $102,905.40. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 23,799 shares in the company, valued at $397,443.30. This represents a 20.57 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 5.82% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On A10 Networks

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Guidance Capital Inc. increased its holdings in A10 Networks by 2.0% in the third quarter. Guidance Capital Inc. now owns 36,355 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $530,000 after buying an additional 718 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in shares of A10 Networks by 43.5% in the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,456 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $45,000 after purchasing an additional 744 shares in the last quarter. Martingale Asset Management L P raised its holdings in A10 Networks by 0.8% in the 3rd quarter. Martingale Asset Management L P now owns 101,051 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $1,459,000 after purchasing an additional 770 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company boosted its position in A10 Networks by 2.9% during the second quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 27,239 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $377,000 after purchasing an additional 776 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd boosted its position in A10 Networks by 1.5% during the third quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd now owns 54,664 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $789,000 after purchasing an additional 814 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.61% of the company’s stock.

A10 Networks Price Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $1.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.07 and a beta of 1.14. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $18.58 and a 200 day simple moving average of $15.76.

About A10 Networks

A10 Networks, Inc provides networking solutions in the Americas, Japan, rest of Asia Pacific, Europe, the Middle East, and Africa. The company offers Thunder Application Delivery Controller that provides advanced server load balancing; Thunder Carrier Grade Networking, which provides standards-compliant address and protocol translation services between varying types of internet protocol addresses; Thunder Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) Insight that decrypts SSL-encrypted traffic and forwards it to a third-party security device for deep packet inspection; and Thunder Convergent Firewall, which addresses multiple critical security capabilities in one package.