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Here's Why ADTRAN (ADTN) Could Be a Smart Investment Pick

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ADTRAN Inc (ADTN - Free Report) is one stock investors may consider adding to their portfolio to combat the highly-volatile market environment and make some gains from its upside potential.

The company has a favorable combination of a Growth Score of A and a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

Per Zacks’ proprietary methodology, stocks with a combination of a Zacks Rank #1 or #2 (Buy) and a Growth Score of A or B offer solid investment opportunities.

It is trading way below its 52-week high and is now available at attractive valuations. The stock is down nearly 30% from its 52-week high level of $24.76 reached on Aug 27, 2021, making it more affordable for investors. The company also has a dividend yield of 1.96%.

The company has been witnessing northbound earnings estimate revisions as well. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for its 2022 earnings has witnessed an upward revision of 25% in the past 60 days to 60 cents per share. The consensus mark moved 8.4% north for 2023 earnings.

The company also has an impressive earnings surprise history, having topped estimates in the trailing four quarters, the average surprise being 159.1%.

 

In the past year, ADTN has proved to be more resilient to volatility than the overall Zacks Communication-Infrastructure industry. The stock has lost 13.1% of its value in the trailing 12 months compared with the industry’s plunge of 65%.

Healthy Fundamentals Driving Growth

Headquartered in Huntsville, AL, ADTRAN designs, manufactures, markets and services network access solutions for communication networks.

ADTRAN’s products and services are utilized by a diverse global customer base of network operators that include Tier 1, 2 and 3 service providers, alternative service providers such as utilities, municipalities, cable/multiple-system operators (MSOs), Small and Medium Businesses (SMBs) and distributed enterprises.

With a portfolio of software-defined access and 10G solutions, ADTRAN is well-positioned to optimize customer and geographic diversity momentum. It is benefiting from solid traction for network solutions and continues to add customers.

ADTRAN recorded healthy demand trends driven by the accelerated expansion of fiber-to-the-home networks, upgrades to in-home WiFi connectivity and the adoption of cloud-based automation tools. The buyout of ADVA is likely to disrupt the fiber networking market with a huge pool of complementary assets and strengthen its regional presence. The company’s end-to-end solutions simplify the deployment of fiber-based broadband services and provide a better customer experience.

However, stiff competition from major players and the market uptake of cheaper alternative communication technologies put pressure on margins.

Other Stocks to Consider

A few other top-ranked stocks from the broader technology sector worth consideration are InterDigital (IDCC - Free Report) , Avnet (AVT - Free Report) and Vishay Intertechnology (VSH - Free Report) . While Avnet and InterDigital sport a Zacks Rank #1, Vishay Intertechnology carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Vishay Intertechnology’s 2022 earnings is pegged at $2.68 per share, rising 10.3% in the past 60 days. The long-term earnings growth rate is anticipated to be 22.7%.

Vishay Intertechnology’s earnings beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate in three of the last four quarters, the average being 4.96%. Shares of VSH have declined 17.7% in the past year.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for InterDigital 2022 earnings is pegged at $3.28 per share, up 5.1% in the past 60 days. IDCC’s long-term earnings growth rate is pegged at 15%.

InterDigital’s earnings beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate in all the preceding four quarters, with the average being 141.1%. Shares of IDCC have lost 21.9% of their value in the past year.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Avnet’s fiscal 2022 earnings is pegged at $6.83 per share, rising 20.5% in the past 60 days. The long-term earnings growth rate is anticipated to be 37.2%.

Avnet’s earnings beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate in all of the last four quarters, the average being 21.22%. Shares of Avnet have grown 7.8% in the past year.

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