Ribbon Communications (NASDAQ:RBBN) Shares Gap Up After Better-Than-Expected Earnings

Shares of Ribbon Communications Inc. (NASDAQ:RBBN) gapped up prior to trading on Thursday after the company announced better than expected quarterly earnings. The stock had previously closed at $4.33, but opened at $4.69. Ribbon Communications shares last traded at $4.68, with a volume of 1,129,776 shares traded.

The communications equipment provider reported $0.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.13 by $0.01. Ribbon Communications had a positive return on equity of 5.41% and a negative net margin of 6.62%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

RBBN has been the subject of several research reports. Northland Securities raised their price objective on Ribbon Communications from $5.50 to $6.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Rosenblatt Securities reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $5.50 price objective on shares of Ribbon Communications in a research note on Monday, December 30th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $6.00.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ribbon Communications

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Intech Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Ribbon Communications during the third quarter valued at approximately $34,000. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS bought a new position in shares of Ribbon Communications in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $64,000. Inceptionr LLC acquired a new position in Ribbon Communications in the fourth quarter worth $104,000. SG Americas Securities LLC grew its holdings in Ribbon Communications by 81.3% during the 3rd quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 34,793 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $113,000 after acquiring an additional 15,604 shares during the last quarter. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ribbon Communications in the second quarter valued at approximately $137,000. 70.92% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Ribbon Communications Price Performance

The company has a current ratio of 1.42, a quick ratio of 1.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.84. The company has a market capitalization of $823.23 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -14.69 and a beta of 1.11. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $4.07 and a 200 day moving average price of $3.63.

About Ribbon Communications

Ribbon Communications Inc provides communications technology in the United States, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, the Asia Pacific, and internationally. It operates through two segments, Cloud and Edge, and IP Optical Networks. The Cloud and Edge segment provides software and hardware products, solutions, and services for voice over internet protocol communications, voice over long-term evolution, and voice over 5G communications, and unified communications and collaboration.