Franklin Resources Inc. Invests $755,000 in CommScope Holding Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:COMM)

Franklin Resources Inc. acquired a new position in shares of CommScope Holding Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:COMM - Free Report) during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 134,646 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock, valued at approximately $755,000. Franklin Resources Inc. owned approximately 0.06% of CommScope at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Monarch Alternative Capital LP acquired a new stake in CommScope during the 3rd quarter worth $16,623,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. purchased a new position in shares of CommScope during the third quarter worth about $11,023,000. Bank of Montreal Can acquired a new stake in shares of CommScope during the third quarter worth about $7,023,000. Two Sigma Advisers LP lifted its holdings in shares of CommScope by 29.3% in the 3rd quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 4,303,800 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock valued at $26,296,000 after purchasing an additional 975,200 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Acadian Asset Management LLC boosted its position in shares of CommScope by 319.3% in the 2nd quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 1,251,705 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock valued at $1,537,000 after purchasing an additional 953,171 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 88.04% of the company's stock.

CommScope Trading Down 4.5 %

Shares of NASDAQ COMM traded down $0.25 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $5.26. 4,601,358 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,162,530. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $5.49 and a 200 day simple moving average of $4.24. The stock has a market cap of $1.14 billion, a P/E ratio of -1.19 and a beta of 1.95. CommScope Holding Company, Inc. has a 1 year low of $0.86 and a 1 year high of $7.19.

CommScope (NASDAQ:COMM - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The communications equipment provider reported ($0.05) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.33 by ($0.38). CommScope had a negative net margin of 18.10% and a negative return on equity of 1.01%. The company had revenue of $1.08 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.42 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.10 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts forecast that CommScope Holding Company, Inc. will post -0.77 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, Morgan Stanley lowered CommScope from an "equal weight" rating to an "underweight" rating and set a $5.00 price target on the stock. in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and three have given a hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $2.50.

CommScope Profile

CommScope Holding Company, Inc provides infrastructure solutions for communications, data center, and entertainment networks worldwide. The company operates through Connectivity and Cable Solutions (CCS); Outdoor Wireless Networks (OWN); Networking, Intelligent Cellular and Security Solutions (NICS), and Access Network Solutions (ANS) segments.