A10 Networks (NYSE:ATEN) Shares Gap Up Following Better-Than-Expected Earnings

A10 Networks, Inc. (NYSE:ATEN) gapped up before the market opened on Friday after the company announced better than expected quarterly earnings. The stock had previously closed at $16.46, but opened at $17.40. A10 Networks shares last traded at $16.34, with a volume of 737,139 shares changing hands.

The communications equipment provider reported $0.20 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.19 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $66.14 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $63.63 million. A10 Networks had a net margin of 19.16% and a return on equity of 23.44%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 8.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.17 EPS.

A10 Networks Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 2nd. Investors of record on Thursday, May 15th will be issued a $0.06 dividend. This represents a $0.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.47%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 15th. A10 Networks’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 35.82%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. StockNews.com upgraded A10 Networks from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 12th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of A10 Networks in a report on Saturday, April 26th. Raymond James assumed coverage on A10 Networks in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. They set a “market perform” rating on the stock. Craig Hallum upgraded A10 Networks from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $20.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Friday. Finally, BWS Financial reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $24.00 price target on shares of A10 Networks in a research note on Friday. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, A10 Networks currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $22.00.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On A10 Networks

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB lifted its position in A10 Networks by 3,389.8% in the fourth quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 2,059 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 2,000 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in A10 Networks by 43.5% during the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,456 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $45,000 after buying an additional 744 shares during the last quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. purchased a new stake in A10 Networks during the 4th quarter valued at $50,000. CWM LLC grew its holdings in A10 Networks by 45.6% in the 1st quarter. CWM LLC now owns 4,644 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $76,000 after acquiring an additional 1,454 shares during the last quarter. Finally, KBC Group NV increased its position 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 acquiring an additional 2,251 shares during the period. 98.61% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

A10 Networks Price Performance

The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $17.15 and its 200 day moving average price is $17.69. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.43 and a beta of 1.31.

About A10 Networks

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.