Investors Purchase Large Volume of Call Options on Gen Digital (NASDAQ:GEN)

Key Points

• Unusual options activity hit Gen Digital, with investors buying 7,614 call options on Friday — about 848% above the stock’s average daily call volume.
• Analyst sentiment remains mixed but mostly cautious: Gen Digital holds a consensus rating of “Hold”, with an average price target of $31.29 after several recent target increases and downgrades.
• The company reported solid quarterly results, beating EPS and revenue estimates, and it also paid a quarterly dividend; however, shares fell slightly on Friday to $25.68.

Gen Digital Inc. (NASDAQ:GEN - Get Free Report) was the target of some unusual options trading on Friday. Investors purchased 7,614 call options on the stock. This represents an increase of approximately 848% compared to the average daily volume of 803 call options.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

GEN has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Weiss Ratings reissued a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Gen Digital in a research report on Thursday, June 18th. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price target on Gen Digital from $22.00 to $24.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Barclays raised their price target on Gen Digital from $26.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, May 8th. Wall Street Zen lowered Gen Digital from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, June 20th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lowered shares of Gen Digital from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, April 27th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have issued a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Gen Digital has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $31.29.

Gen Digital Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:GEN traded down $0.32 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $25.68. The company had a trading volume of 884,753 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,041,652. Gen Digital has a twelve month low of $17.78 and a twelve month high of $32.22. The stock has a market cap of $15.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.22 and a beta of 1.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.07, a current ratio of 0.40 and a quick ratio of 0.40. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $24.29 and its 200-day simple moving average is $23.29.

Gen Digital (NASDAQ:GEN - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 7th. The company reported $0.67 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.65 by $0.02. Gen Digital had a net margin of 19.46% and a return on equity of 55.47%. The firm had revenue of $1.28 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.25 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.59 earnings per share. Gen Digital's quarterly revenue was up 27.0% on a year-over-year basis. Gen Digital has set its Q1 2027 guidance at 0.680-0.700 EPS and its FY 2027 guidance at 2.850-2.950 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Gen Digital will post 2.59 earnings per share for the current year.

Gen Digital Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 18th were given a $0.125 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 18th. This represents a $0.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.9%. Gen Digital's dividend payout ratio is presently 31.65%.

Insider Activity at Gen Digital

In other news, Director Ondrej Vlcek sold 100,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $24.78, for a total transaction of $2,478,000.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 3,832,724 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $94,974,900.72. This represents a 2.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director John C. Chrystal purchased 3,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 4th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $27.06 per share, with a total value of $81,180.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director directly owned 31,419 shares in the company, valued at $850,198.14. The trade was a 10.56% increase in their position. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. 9.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Gen Digital

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. International Assets Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in Gen Digital in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Grove Bank & Trust grew its stake in shares of Gen Digital by 452.2% in the second quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 1,132 shares of the company's stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 927 shares in the last quarter. Weiss Asset Management LP acquired a new stake in shares of Gen Digital in the first quarter valued at $41,000. TD Private Client Wealth LLC raised its holdings in shares of Gen Digital by 65.8% in the 4th quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 1,539 shares of the company's stock valued at $42,000 after buying an additional 611 shares during the period. Finally, Geneos Wealth Management Inc. raised its holdings 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 buying an additional 1,183 shares during the period. 81.38% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.

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