1. Ceragon Networks Ltd. (NASDAQ:CRNT)
Stock Upside: 59.77%
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 8
Ceragon Networks Ltd. (NASDAQ:CRNT) is one of the best optical networking stocks to buy according to analysts. On May 19, Ceragon Networks Ltd. (NASDAQ:CRNT) reported its Q1 2026 financial results, where revenue touched $85.0 million, down 4.1% year over year, but comfortably ahead of the Wall Street consensus of $80.4 million. CEO Doron Arazi attributed the year-over-year dip to a “timing issue.” This refers to the fact that large Indian operator orders only began converting into recognized revenue midway through the quarter.
“We are working closely with the customer and relevant component vendors on a catch-up plan,” Arazi told investors on the earnings call.
Nonetheless, India contributed 35% of the total revenue during the quarter. In fact, Arazi noted, this is the primary reason revenue beat estimates. The CEO added that by early May, the company had already booked roughly $86 million in orders from Indian operators year-to-date, and that these were concentrated in just two leading telecom providers. Of that, Ceragon recognized only about $24 million as revenue in Q1, and expects the remainder to flow through by year-end.
The quarter’s non-GAAP EPS came in at $0.01 per diluted share, compared to $0.03 per diluted share for Q1 2025. GAAP gross margin expanded from 32.8% to 35.4% year over year.
On his part, company CFO Ronen Stein stated that management reiterated its full-year 2026 outlook, where it expects revenue of $355 million to $385 million, non-GAAP gross margin improvement of 100 basis points at the midpoint of the revenue range, and non-GAAP operating margin of 6.5%-7.5%.
Ceragon Networks Ltd. (NASDAQ:CRNT) is a wireless transport and backhaul networking company that supports high-capacity communications infrastructure used alongside fiber and optical networks.
While we acknowledge the potential of CRNT to grow, our conviction lies in the belief that some AI stocks hold greater promise for delivering higher returns and have limited downside risk. If you are looking for an AI stock that is more promising than CRNT and that has 100x upside potential, check out our report about the cheapest AI stock.
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