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 better than expected earnings announcement. 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 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 firm had revenue of $65.10 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $63.57 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted ($0.02) EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 5.7% compared to the same quarter last year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on RDWR shares. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Radware from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 22nd. Needham & Company LLC restated a “hold” rating on shares of Radware in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Radware from $19.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 8th.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of RDWR. Yelin Lapidot Holdings Management Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Radware during the 3rd quarter valued at $6,902,000. Citigroup Inc. raised its holdings in Radware by 16.8% during the third quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 101,821 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $1,723,000 after buying an additional 14,623 shares during the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. raised its holdings in Radware by 22.9% during the fourth 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 buying an additional 308,396 shares during the last quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. raised its holdings in Radware by 14.3% during the fourth quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 14,139 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $236,000 after buying an additional 1,774 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Trexquant Investment LP acquired a new position in Radware during the fourth quarter worth $445,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 73.12% of the company’s stock.

Radware Price Performance

The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $18.07 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $17.11. The stock has a market cap of $873.73 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -39.44 and a beta of 0.97.

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.