Gen Digital (NASDAQ:GEN) Raised to “Hold” at Wells Fargo & Company

Gen Digital (NASDAQ:GEN) was upgraded by equities researchers at Wells Fargo & Company to a “hold” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Monday,Zacks.com reports.

Several other equities research analysts have also issued reports on GEN. Zacks Research raised Gen Digital from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 18th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Gen Digital in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Barclays dropped their target price on Gen Digital from $33.00 to $32.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 6th. Wall Street Zen raised Gen Digital from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Sunday, February 8th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reduced their price target on shares of Gen Digital from $33.00 to $29.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 7th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $32.71.

Gen Digital Price Performance

GEN stock opened at $22.40 on Monday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $24.81 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $26.78. The stock has a market cap of $13.57 billion, a PE ratio of 23.09, a P/E/G ratio of 0.74 and a beta of 1.11. Gen Digital has a one year low of $21.33 and a one year high of $32.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.50, a current ratio of 0.47 and a quick ratio of 0.47.

Gen Digital (NASDAQ:GEN) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 5th. The company reported $0.64 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.63 by $0.01. Gen Digital had a net margin of 12.76% and a return on equity of 56.76%. The firm had revenue of $1.24 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.23 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.56 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 25.8% on a year-over-year basis. Gen Digital has set its Q4 2026 guidance at 0.640-0.660 EPS and its FY 2026 guidance at 2.540-2.560 EPS. On average, analysts predict that Gen Digital will post 2.05 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Ondrej Vlcek sold 113,674 shares of Gen Digital stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $27.12, for a total value of $3,082,838.88. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 3,932,980 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $106,662,417.60. The trade was a 2.81% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Corporate insiders own 9.30% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Gen Digital

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of GEN. Kera Capital Partners Inc. boosted its position in shares of Gen Digital by 33.7% in the 4th quarter. Kera Capital Partners Inc. now owns 17,788 shares of the company’s stock worth $484,000 after purchasing an additional 4,479 shares in the last quarter. Compound Planning Inc. raised its stake in Gen Digital by 13.2% during the fourth quarter. Compound Planning Inc. now owns 13,257 shares of the company’s stock valued at $360,000 after buying an additional 1,541 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. boosted its holdings in Gen Digital by 9.7% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 9,975,365 shares of the company’s stock worth $271,230,000 after acquiring an additional 878,662 shares in the last quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC boosted its holdings in Gen Digital by 67.1% in the fourth quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 253,171 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,884,000 after acquiring an additional 101,635 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Alberta Investment Management Corp increased its holdings in shares of Gen Digital by 24.0% during the fourth quarter. Alberta Investment Management Corp now owns 1,550,000 shares of the company’s stock valued at $42,144,000 after acquiring an additional 300,000 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.38% of the company’s stock.

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.