A10 Networks (NYSE:ATEN) Sets New 12-Month High Following Earnings Beat

Shares of A10 Networks, Inc. (NYSE:ATEN) hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Tuesday following a better than expected earnings announcement. The company 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 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.06 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $0.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.15%. A10 Networks’s payout ratio is currently 35.82%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Karen S. Thomas sold 6,162 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $16.70, for a total value of $102,905.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 23,799 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $397,443.30. This represents a 20.57 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 5.82% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of A10 Networks

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB increased its holdings in shares of A10 Networks by 3,389.8% during the fourth quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 2,059 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $38,000 after buying an additional 2,000 shares in the last quarter. Copeland Capital Management LLC bought a new position in A10 Networks in the third quarter valued at about $43,000. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in shares of A10 Networks by 43.5% during the fourth 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. Quantbot Technologies LP grew its holdings in shares of A10 Networks by 95.4% during the third quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP now owns 5,657 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $82,000 after purchasing an additional 2,762 shares during the last quarter. Finally, KBC Group NV increased its stake in shares of A10 Networks by 79.1% in the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 5,096 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $94,000 after buying an additional 2,251 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.61% of the company’s stock.

A10 Networks Stock Performance

The firm has a market cap of $1.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.07 and a beta of 1.14. The business’s fifty day moving average is $18.58 and its 200-day moving average is $15.76.

A10 Networks Company Profile

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.