Calix (NYSE:CALX) Shares Gap Up on Strong Earnings

Calix, Inc. (NYSE:CALX)’s share price gapped up before the market opened on Tuesday following a stronger than expected earnings report. The stock had previously closed at $33.25, but opened at $37.50. Calix shares last traded at $37.52, with a volume of 494,209 shares trading hands.

The communications equipment provider reported $0.19 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.13 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $220.20 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $206.98 million. Calix had a negative return on equity of 3.43% and a negative net margin of 3.58%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.21 earnings per share.

Calix declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback program on Monday, April 21st that permits the company to buyback $100.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the communications equipment provider to purchase up to 4.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on CALX. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on shares of Calix from $45.00 to $34.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and set a $53.00 price objective on shares of Calix in a research note on Tuesday. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Calix currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $42.67.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Carl Russo sold 25,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $38.15, for a total value of $953,750.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 2,164,188 shares in the company, valued at approximately $82,563,772.20. The trade was a 1.14 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 16.90% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Calix

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its stake in Calix by 8.8% during the 1st quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 402,248 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $14,256,000 after purchasing an additional 32,610 shares during the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC grew its position in Calix by 159.6% during the first quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 29,128 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $1,032,000 after buying an additional 17,907 shares in the last quarter. Portside Wealth Group LLC increased its stake in Calix by 8.0% during the first quarter. Portside Wealth Group LLC now owns 8,414 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $298,000 after acquiring an additional 621 shares during the period. Congress Asset Management Co. raised its holdings in Calix by 8.1% in the 1st quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. now owns 1,378,497 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $48,854,000 after acquiring an additional 103,175 shares in the last quarter. Finally, LVW Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Calix in the 1st quarter worth approximately $226,000. Institutional investors own 98.14% of the company’s stock.

Calix Trading Up 13.0 %

The company has a fifty day moving average price of $35.10 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $35.77. The company has a market cap of $2.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -83.98 and a beta of 1.75.

About Calix

Calix, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the provision of cloud and software platforms, and systems and services in the United States, rest of Americas, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and the Asia Pacific. Its cloud and software platforms, and systems and services enable broadband service providers (BSPs) to provide a range of services.