Radware (NASDAQ:RDWR) Shares Gap Up on Better-Than-Expected Earnings

Radware Ltd. (NASDAQ:RDWR)’s share price gapped up before the market opened on Wednesday following a stronger than expected earnings report. The stock had previously closed at $17.22, but opened at $18.36. Radware shares last traded at $18.08, with a volume of 36,464 shares trading hands.

The information technology services provider reported $0.16 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.14 by $0.02. Radware had a negative net margin of 8.26% and a negative return on equity of 2.88%. The company had revenue of $65.10 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $63.57 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted ($0.02) EPS. Radware’s revenue for the quarter was down 5.7% on a year-over-year basis.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently commented on the stock. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Radware from $19.00 to $22.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 8th. StockNews.com raised shares of Radware from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 22nd. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Radware in a report on Thursday.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Radware

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. lifted its stake in shares of Radware by 14.3% in the 4th quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 14,139 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $236,000 after purchasing an additional 1,774 shares during the period. BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its stake in Radware by 239.5% during the 1st quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 6,434 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $120,000 after acquiring an additional 4,539 shares during the period. Citigroup Inc. raised its stake in Radware by 16.8% during the 3rd quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 101,821 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $1,723,000 after acquiring an additional 14,623 shares during the period. Trexquant Investment LP bought a new stake in Radware during the 4th quarter worth approximately $445,000. Finally, Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. raised its stake in Radware by 22.9% during the 4th quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 1,654,735 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $27,601,000 after acquiring an additional 308,396 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 73.12% of the company’s stock.

Radware Trading Up 2.9 %

The company has a market cap of $873.73 million, a P/E ratio of -39.44 and a beta of 0.97. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $18.07 and its 200 day simple moving average is $17.11.

Radware Company Profile

Radware Ltd., together with its subsidiaries, develops, manufactures, and markets cyber security and application delivery solutions for cloud, on-premises, and software defined data centers worldwide. The company operates in two segments, Radware's Core Business and The Hawks' Business. It offers DefensePro provides automated DDoS protection; Radware Kubernetes, a web application firewall solution; and Cyber Controller, a unified solution for management, configuration, and attack lifecycle.