Gen Digital (NASDAQ:GEN) Cut to "Buy" at Wall Street Zen

Gen Digital (NASDAQ:GEN - Get Free Report) was downgraded by analysts at Wall Street Zen from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report released on Saturday.

Several other research analysts have also recently commented on GEN. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on shares of Gen Digital from $27.00 to $25.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price objective on shares of Gen Digital from $28.00 to $30.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. Finally, Evercore ISI began coverage on shares of Gen Digital in a research note on Tuesday. They set an "outperform" rating and a $35.00 target price for the company. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $30.00.

Gen Digital Stock Performance

NASDAQ:GEN opened at $30.48 on Friday. Gen Digital has a 52 week low of $22.74 and a 52 week high of $31.72. The company has a market cap of $18.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.14 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a quick ratio of 0.51, a current ratio of 0.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.51. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $28.53 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $27.42.

Gen Digital (NASDAQ:GEN - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, May 6th. The company reported $0.59 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.58 by $0.01. Gen Digital had a return on equity of 59.38% and a net margin of 16.34%. The firm had revenue of $1.01 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $999.48 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.53 EPS. Gen Digital's revenue for the quarter was up 4.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Gen Digital will post 2.05 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Gen Digital

In other news, Director Nora Denzel sold 31,646 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, May 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $28.76, for a total value of $910,138.96. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 34,860 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,002,573.60. This represents a 47.58% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 12.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of GEN. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Gen Digital by 117.6% in the first quarter. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC now owns 1,580 shares of the company's stock valued at $42,000 after acquiring an additional 854 shares in the last quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Gen Digital by 221.5% in the 1st quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 1,717 shares of the company's stock valued at $46,000 after purchasing an additional 1,183 shares during the period. Tsfg LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Gen Digital in the 1st quarter valued at about $52,000. Rise Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Gen Digital by 19.2% in the 1st quarter. Rise Advisors LLC now owns 2,361 shares of the company's stock valued at $63,000 after purchasing an additional 381 shares during the period. Finally, Capital Analysts LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Gen Digital in the 1st quarter valued at about $85,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.38% of the company's stock.

About Gen Digital

Gen Digital Inc engages in the provision of cyber safety solutions for consumers in the United States, Canada, Latin America, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, the Asia Pacific, and Japan. The company offers security and performance products under Norton, Avast, Avira, AVG, and CCleaner brands that provide real-time protection and maintenance for PCs, Macs, and mobile devices against malware, viruses, adware, and other online threats.

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