Gen Digital (NASDAQ:GEN) Downgraded by Wall Street Zen to Hold

Key Points

• Wall Street Zen downgraded Gen Digital to “Hold” from “Buy.” The broader analyst consensus is also “Hold,” with a consensus price target of $31.67.
• Gen Digital reported quarterly EPS of $0.71 and revenue of $1.34 billion, exceeding estimates of $0.69 and $1.31 billion, respectively; revenue increased 6.3% year over year.
• The stock opened at $28.48 after declining 3.7%, while institutional investors own 81.38% of shares. Recent insider activity was mixed, with a director buying shares and another insider selling 30,000 shares.

Gen Digital (NASDAQ:GEN - Get Free Report) was downgraded by stock analysts at Wall Street Zen from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note issued on Sunday.

Several other analysts have also recently weighed in on the stock. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Gen Digital from $27.00 to $32.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, August 7th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Gen Digital from a "hold (c)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 15th. Argus raised shares of Gen Digital to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Friday, May 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Gen Digital from $22.00 to $28.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, August 7th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group cut shares of Gen Digital from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, April 27th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has issued a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $31.67.

Gen Digital Trading Down 3.7%

GEN opened at $28.48 on Friday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $26.17 and a 200 day moving average price of $23.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.00, a current ratio of 0.47 and a quick ratio of 0.40. Gen Digital has a 12 month low of $17.78 and a 12 month high of $31.88. The stock has a market capitalization of $17.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.56 and a beta of 1.21.

Gen Digital (NASDAQ:GEN - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The company reported $0.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.69 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $1.34 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.31 billion. Gen Digital had a return on equity of 55.93% and a net margin of 20.73%.Gen Digital's revenue for the quarter was up 6.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.64 EPS. Gen Digital has set its FY 2027 guidance at 2.870-2.970 EPS and its Q2 2027 guidance at 0.710-0.730 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Gen Digital will post 2.61 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Gen Digital

In related news, Director John C. Chrystal purchased 3,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 4th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $27.06 per share, for a total transaction of $81,180.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 31,419 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $850,198.14. The trade was a 10.56% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Travis Michael Witteveen sold 30,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $29.42, for a total value of $882,600.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 496,545 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $14,608,353.90. This represents a 5.70% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders own 9.70% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Legal & General Group Plc acquired a new stake in shares of Gen Digital during the second quarter worth $225,169,000. Deutsche Bank AG purchased a new position in Gen Digital during the 2nd quarter worth $146,639,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new position in Gen Digital during the 2nd quarter worth $108,421,000. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership lifted its stake in shares of Gen Digital by 45.8% in the 1st quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 13,094,386 shares of the company's stock worth $246,567,000 after acquiring an additional 4,115,676 shares during the period. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP lifted its stake in shares of Gen Digital by 22.3% in the 4th quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 19,941,546 shares of the company's stock worth $542,211,000 after acquiring an additional 3,640,451 shares during the period. 81.38% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Gen Digital

Gen Digital NASDAQ: GEN is a global cybersecurity company specializing in consumer- and small-business-focused security, privacy, and identity protection solutions. The company offers a suite of products designed to safeguard devices, networks, and personal information against malware, ransomware, phishing attacks and other digital threats. With a focus on user-friendly interfaces and cross-platform compatibility, Gen Digital develops antivirus software, VPN services, parental controls, password management tools, and comprehensive identity-theft monitoring services.

Gen Digital traces its origins to the consumer software division of Symantec Corporation, which was spun off in late 2019 under the NortonLifeLock name.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.

Continue following MarketBeat

Add MarketBeat as your preferred source on Google to see our latest stories in your feed.

Add As Preferred Source