Cantor Fitzgerald Lowers Avantax (NASDAQ:AVTA) to Neutral

Avantax (NASDAQ:AVTA) was downgraded by research analysts at Cantor Fitzgerald from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report issued on Monday, FlyOnTheWall reports.

Several other research firms have also recently commented on AVTA. Barrington Research reduced their target price on Avantax from $32.50 to $30.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, August 10th. Benchmark cut their price objective on Avantax from $32.00 to $30.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 11th. Finally, William Blair restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Avantax in a research report on Monday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Avantax currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $29.00.

Avantax Stock Performance

Shares of AVTA stock traded up $5.59 during trading on Monday, reaching $25.54. 7,383,618 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 493,049. Avantax has a 1 year low of $17.94 and a 1 year high of $30.23. The company has a market capitalization of $938.85 million, a P/E ratio of 3.48, a PEG ratio of 3.44 and a beta of 1.28. The company has a current ratio of 2.37, a quick ratio of 2.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $23.09 and its 200 day moving average is $23.86.

Avantax (NASDAQ:AVTA) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 9th. The company reported $0.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.17 by ($0.08). Avantax had a net margin of 49.57% and a negative return on equity of 2.52%. The company had revenue of $186.93 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $187.91 million. Equities research analysts expect that Avantax will post 0.39 EPS for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Avantax

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Metropolitan Life Insurance Co NY bought a new stake in Avantax in the second quarter valued at $48,000. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Avantax during the 2nd quarter valued at about $72,000. Ameritas Investment Partners Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Avantax during the second quarter valued at about $73,000. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC bought a new position in Avantax in the second quarter worth about $110,000. Finally, State of Wyoming purchased a new stake in Avantax in the second quarter worth about $155,000. 91.63% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Avantax Company Profile

Avantax, Inc provides wealth management solutions to consumers, small business owners, tax professionals, financial professionals, and certified public accounting firms in the United States. The company offers an integrated platform of technical, practice, compliance, operations, sales, and product support tools that enable to offer tax-advantaged planning, investing, and wealth management services.