Barclays Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for AudioCodes (NASDAQ:AUDC) Stock

AudioCodes (NASDAQ:AUDC) had its target price boosted by research analysts at Barclays from $9.00 to $10.00 in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an “underweight” rating on the communications equipment provider’s stock. Barclays‘s price target would indicate a potential downside of 19.16% from the stock’s current price.

A number of other research firms have also recently weighed in on AUDC. StockNews.com raised shares of AudioCodes from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $11.00 price target on shares of AudioCodes in a report on Tuesday, January 21st.

AudioCodes Stock Performance

NASDAQ AUDC opened at $12.37 on Wednesday. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $9.91 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $9.81. The stock has a market cap of $373.82 million, a PE ratio of 30.93 and a beta of 0.80. AudioCodes has a fifty-two week low of $7.70 and a fifty-two week high of $14.45.

AudioCodes (NASDAQ:AUDC) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The communications equipment provider reported $0.31 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.22 by $0.09. AudioCodes had a net margin of 4.99% and a return on equity of 8.85%. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that AudioCodes will post 0.51 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On AudioCodes

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of AudioCodes by 151.8% during the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 3,624 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 2,185 shares during the period. R Squared Ltd acquired a new position in AudioCodes in the fourth quarter valued at $97,000. DGS Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in AudioCodes by 72.8% in the third quarter. DGS Capital Management LLC now owns 21,672 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $211,000 after buying an additional 9,133 shares during the period. Marshall Wace LLP lifted its holdings in AudioCodes by 37.5% in the second quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 25,683 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $267,000 after buying an additional 7,009 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its holdings in AudioCodes by 2.8% in the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 52,309 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $509,000 after buying an additional 1,419 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.05% of the company’s stock.

AudioCodes Company Profile

AudioCodes Ltd. provides advanced communications software, products, and productivity solutions for the digital workplace worldwide. The company offers solutions, products, and services for unified communications, contact centers, hosted business services, Voice.AI, and service provider businesses. Its products include session border controllers, life cycle management solutions, VoIP network routing solutions, media gateways and servers, multi-service business routers, IP phones solutions, and value-added applications, as well as professional services.