Short Interest in Aviat Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:AVNW) Declines By 12.0%

Aviat Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:AVNW) was the target of a significant decrease in short interest during the month of October. As of October 31st, there was short interest totalling 478,700 shares, a decrease of 12.0% from the October 15th total of 544,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 185,800 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.6 days.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently commented on AVNW shares. Lake Street Capital decreased their target price on Aviat Networks from $45.00 to $27.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. B. Riley lowered their target price on shares of Aviat Networks from $55.00 to $42.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, September 13th. Northland Securities cut their price objective on shares of Aviat Networks from $40.00 to $35.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. StockNews.com cut Aviat Networks from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market outperform” rating and set a $50.00 price target on shares of Aviat Networks in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $38.60.

Aviat Networks Price Performance

Aviat Networks stock opened at $13.79 on Monday. Aviat Networks has a 12-month low of $12.95 and a 12-month high of $38.85. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $20.62 and a 200-day moving average price of $26.08. The firm has a market capitalization of $175.00 million, a PE ratio of -44.48 and a beta of 1.81. The company has a current ratio of 1.72, a quick ratio of 1.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33.

Aviat Networks (NASDAQ:AVNW) last announced 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 positive return on equity of 4.94% and a negative net margin of 0.98%. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Aviat Networks will post 1.13 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Aviat Networks

In other news, CFO Michael Connaway purchased 3,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 8th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $14.13 per share, for a total transaction of $49,455.00. Following the acquisition, the chief financial officer now directly owns 57,893 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $818,028.09. This represents a 6.43 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Pete A. Smith acquired 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 8th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $14.13 per share, with a total value of $42,390.00. Following the completion of 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 position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 4.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Aviat Networks

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in AVNW. Barclays PLC grew its holdings in Aviat Networks by 298.0% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 15,928 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $344,000 after acquiring an additional 11,926 shares in the last quarter. Hodges Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in Aviat Networks by 27.3% during the third quarter. Hodges Capital Management Inc. now owns 465,483 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $10,068,000 after buying an additional 99,948 shares during the period. Jane Street Group LLC lifted its holdings in Aviat Networks by 59.1% during the third quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 24,737 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $535,000 after buying an additional 9,186 shares during the period. State Street Corp boosted its position in Aviat Networks by 1.6% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 237,689 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $5,141,000 after acquiring an additional 3,855 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Aviat Networks by 1.1% during the 3rd quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC now owns 99,300 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $2,148,000 after purchasing an additional 1,100 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.62% of the company’s stock.

Aviat Networks Company Profile

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.