Gen Digital (NASDAQ:GEN) Sees Unusually-High Trading Volume - Should You Buy?

Key Points

• Gen Digital shares experienced unusually high trading volume, with 10.8 million shares traded—62% above the prior session—while the stock fell from $26.23 to approximately $24.64.
• Analyst sentiment remains cautious: the stock has a consensus “Hold” rating from eight analysts, despite an average price target of $31.60.
• The company recently exceeded quarterly earnings and revenue expectations, reported 6.3% year-over-year revenue growth, and maintains a quarterly dividend of $0.125, representing a 2.1% yield.

Gen Digital Inc. (NASDAQ:GEN - Get Free Report) saw unusually-strong trading volume on Thursday . 10,783,226 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 62% from the previous session's volume of 6,644,292 shares.The stock last traded at $24.6430 and had previously closed at $26.23.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on GEN. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Gen Digital from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Sunday, August 16th. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Gen Digital from $27.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, August 7th. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price target on Gen Digital from $27.00 to $30.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a report on Friday, August 7th. Weiss Ratings raised Gen Digital from a "hold (c)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 15th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Gen Digital from $22.00 to $28.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, August 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has assigned a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Gen Digital currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $31.60.

Gen Digital Price Performance

The company has a current ratio of 0.47, a quick ratio of 0.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.00. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $28.70 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $24.70. The stock has a market cap of $14.26 billion, a PE ratio of 13.87, a PEG ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 1.22.

Gen Digital (NASDAQ:GEN - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 6th. The company reported $0.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 net margin of 20.73% and a return on equity of 55.93%. Gen Digital's revenue was up 6.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.64 earnings per share. 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. On average, equities analysts expect that Gen Digital Inc. will post 2.64 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Gen Digital Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 9th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 17th were given a $0.125 dividend. This represents a $0.50 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 17th. Gen Digital's payout ratio is presently 29.07%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Ondrej Vlcek sold 200,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $30.00, for a total transaction of $6,000,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 3,332,904 shares in the company, valued at $99,987,120. This represents a 5.66% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, COO Bryan Seuk Ko sold 28,248 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $30.67, for a total value of $866,366.16. Following the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 744,262 shares in the company, valued at approximately $22,826,515.54. The trade was a 3.66% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold 558,508 shares of company stock worth $16,356,093 in the last three months. 9.70% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Gen Digital

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of GEN. Legal & General Group Plc bought a new position in shares of Gen Digital during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $225,169,000. Deutsche Bank AG acquired a new stake in Gen Digital in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $146,639,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new stake in Gen Digital in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $108,421,000. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership grew its position in Gen Digital by 45.8% during the 1st quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 13,094,386 shares of the company's stock worth $246,567,000 after purchasing an additional 4,115,676 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE purchased a new stake in Gen Digital during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $62,004,000. 81.38% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Gen Digital Company Profile

Gen Digital Inc NASDAQ: GEN is a global cybersecurity and consumer safety company that provides products designed to help individuals and families protect their devices, online identities, personal information and digital privacy. The company serves customers through a portfolio of consumer-focused cybersecurity and privacy brands.

Its products and services include antivirus and device security, identity theft protection, virtual private networks, password management, online privacy tools, scam protection and family safety features.

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