A10 Networks (NYSE:ATEN) Shares Gap Down – Time to Sell?

A10 Networks, Inc. (NYSE:ATEN)’s stock price gapped down before the market opened on Thursday . The stock had previously closed at $19.55, but opened at $17.49. A10 Networks shares last traded at $16.29, with a volume of 2,446,511 shares.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ATEN has been the topic of a number of research reports. StockNews.com raised shares of A10 Networks from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday. Craig Hallum raised their target price on A10 Networks from $16.00 to $18.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, BWS Financial reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $24.00 target price on shares of A10 Networks in a report on Wednesday, February 5th.

A10 Networks Stock Performance

The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $19.75 and its 200-day simple moving average is $17.07. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.20 billion, a PE ratio of 24.28 and a beta of 1.17.

A10 Networks (NYSE:ATEN) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The communications equipment provider reported $0.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.22 by $0.03. A10 Networks had a net margin of 19.16% and a return on equity of 23.44%. As a group, analysts predict that A10 Networks, Inc. will post 0.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

A10 Networks Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th were paid a $0.06 dividend. This represents a $0.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.48%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 14th. A10 Networks’s dividend payout ratio is currently 35.82%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On A10 Networks

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of A10 Networks by 5.7% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,662,442 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $24,010,000 after purchasing an additional 89,175 shares during the last quarter. Barclays PLC boosted its stake in A10 Networks by 234.1% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 152,238 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $2,198,000 after purchasing an additional 106,672 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC grew its holdings in A10 Networks by 359.3% during the 4th quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 32,607 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $600,000 after buying an additional 25,508 shares in the last quarter. Quest Partners LLC raised its position in shares of A10 Networks by 262.1% during the third quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 56,245 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $812,000 after buying an additional 40,712 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of A10 Networks by 11.8% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 389,088 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $5,618,000 after buying an additional 41,141 shares in the last quarter. 98.61% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.