A10 Networks, Inc. (NYSE:ATEN) Short Interest Update

A10 Networks, Inc. (NYSE:ATEN) saw a large growth in short interest during the month of December. As of December 15th, there was short interest totalling 1,660,000 shares, a growth of 7.8% from the November 30th total of 1,540,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 613,800 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.7 days. Approximately 2.3% of the company’s shares are sold short.

A10 Networks Stock Down 0.1 %

Shares of ATEN stock traded down $0.01 on Wednesday, reaching $18.40. The stock had a trading volume of 435,650 shares, compared to its average volume of 724,855. A10 Networks has a 12 month low of $12.27 and a 12 month high of $19.37. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.46 and a beta of 1.16. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $17.04 and its two-hundred day moving average is $14.86.

A10 Networks (NYSE:ATEN) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The communications equipment provider reported $0.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.19 by $0.02. A10 Networks had a net margin of 19.29% and a return on equity of 22.69%. The company had revenue of $66.72 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $63.78 million. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.12 EPS. A10 Networks’s quarterly revenue was up 15.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that A10 Networks will post 0.6 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

A10 Networks Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 2nd. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 18th were given a $0.06 dividend. This represents a $0.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.30%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 18th. A10 Networks’s payout ratio is 35.82%.

Insider Buying and Selling at A10 Networks

In related news, EVP Karen S. Thomas sold 6,162 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $16.70, for a total value of $102,905.40. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 23,799 shares in the company, valued at $397,443.30. This trade represents a 20.57 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Corporate insiders own 5.81% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of A10 Networks

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ATEN. Mackenzie Financial Corp increased its position in A10 Networks by 15.6% during the 2nd quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 46,062 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $638,000 after buying an additional 6,217 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of A10 Networks by 5.7% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,662,442 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $24,010,000 after acquiring an additional 89,175 shares in the last quarter. Barclays PLC increased its position in A10 Networks by 234.1% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 152,238 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $2,198,000 after acquiring an additional 106,672 shares during the period. Point72 DIFC Ltd acquired a new stake in A10 Networks in the 2nd quarter worth about $516,000. Finally, Quest Partners LLC raised its stake in A10 Networks by 262.1% in the 3rd quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 56,245 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $812,000 after purchasing an additional 40,712 shares in the last quarter. 98.61% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have weighed in on ATEN. Craig Hallum lowered A10 Networks from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $16.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Friday, November 8th. StockNews.com upgraded A10 Networks from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, BWS Financial lifted their price target on shares of A10 Networks from $17.00 to $24.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th.

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.