Aviat Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:AVNW) Short Interest Down 12.0% in October

Aviat Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:AVNW) saw a large drop in short interest in October. As of October 31st, there was short interest totalling 478,700 shares, a drop of 12.0% from the October 15th total of 544,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 185,800 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.6 days.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Pete A. Smith purchased 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 8th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $14.13 per share, for a total transaction of $42,390.00. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer now owns 298,539 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,218,356.07. The trade was a 1.02 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Michael Connaway acquired 3,500 shares of Aviat Networks stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 8th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $14.13 per share, for a total transaction of $49,455.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 57,893 shares in the company, valued at $818,028.09. The trade was a 6.43 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 4.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Aviat Networks

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. nVerses Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Aviat Networks in the 2nd quarter worth $29,000. NBC Securities Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Aviat Networks during the third quarter valued at about $62,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its position in shares of Aviat Networks by 84.8% during the first quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 5,475 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $210,000 after acquiring an additional 2,513 shares in the last quarter. Covestor Ltd raised its holdings in shares of Aviat Networks by 309.8% in the 1st quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 5,934 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $228,000 after acquiring an additional 4,486 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd bought a new position in Aviat Networks in the 3rd quarter valued at about $263,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.62% of the company’s stock.

Aviat Networks Trading Down 0.9 %

Shares of AVNW stock opened at $13.79 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $175.00 million, a P/E ratio of -44.48 and a beta of 1.81. Aviat Networks has a fifty-two week low of $12.95 and a fifty-two week high of $38.85. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $20.62 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $26.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 1.40 and a current ratio of 1.72.

Aviat Networks (NASDAQ:AVNW) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, October 4th. The communications equipment provider reported $0.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. The company had revenue of $116.66 million for the quarter. Aviat Networks had a negative net margin of 0.98% and a positive return on equity of 4.94%. Research analysts forecast that Aviat Networks will post 0.74 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. B. Riley reduced their target price on shares of Aviat Networks from $55.00 to $42.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, September 13th. Lake Street Capital reduced their price objective on shares of Aviat Networks from $45.00 to $27.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market outperform” rating and set a $50.00 target price on shares of Aviat Networks in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. StockNews.com lowered Aviat Networks from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, Roth Mkm cut their price objective on Aviat Networks from $43.00 to $39.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $38.60.

About Aviat Networks

Aviat Networks, Inc provides microwave networking and wireless access networking solutions in North America, Africa, the Middle East, Europe, Latin America, and the Asia Pacific. The company offers outdoor, indoor, and split-mount radios; microwave routers, switches, and trunking; and private LTE, virtual fiber, and element management products; and hosted software products, such as aviat design, frequency assurance software, and health assurance software.