Gen Digital (NASDAQ:GEN) Stock Rating Upgraded by Wall Street Zen

Gen Digital (NASDAQ:GEN) was upgraded by research analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note issued on Saturday.

Other research analysts also recently issued reports about the company. Argus raised Gen Digital to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Gen Digital from $22.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their target price on Gen Digital from $27.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday. Barclays increased their price target on Gen Digital from $27.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Gen Digital from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 15th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has assigned a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $31.67.

Gen Digital Stock Performance

GEN opened at $29.17 on Friday. Gen Digital has a twelve month low of $17.78 and a twelve month high of $32.22. The company has a quick ratio of 0.40, a current ratio of 0.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.00. The company has a fifty day moving average of $25.96 and a 200-day moving average of $23.31. The stock has a market cap of $17.46 billion, a PE ratio of 16.96 and a beta of 1.21.

Gen Digital (NASDAQ:GEN) last released its earnings results 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 business 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 for the quarter was up 6.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $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, sell-side analysts predict that Gen Digital will post 2.61 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Gen Digital

In other Gen Digital news, Director Ondrej Vlcek sold 100,000 shares of Gen Digital stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the director owned 3,832,724 shares in the company, valued at approximately $94,974,900.72. The trade was a 2.54% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director John C. Chrystal acquired 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 4th. The shares were bought at an average price of $27.06 per share, for a total transaction of $81,180.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director owned 31,419 shares in the company, valued at approximately $850,198.14. This represents a 10.56% increase in their position. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. Company insiders own 9.70% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Gen Digital

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Larson Financial Group LLC lifted its position in Gen Digital by 20.9% during the third quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 2,255 shares of the company’s stock valued at $64,000 after purchasing an additional 390 shares during the last quarter. Trust Co. of Vermont bought a new stake in shares of Gen Digital in the 2nd quarter worth about $32,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Gen Digital by 14.5% during the 1st quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,376 shares of the company’s stock valued at $64,000 after buying an additional 427 shares in the last quarter. Vident Advisory LLC raised its position in shares of Gen Digital by 1.6% during the 3rd quarter. Vident Advisory LLC now owns 26,906 shares of the company’s stock valued at $764,000 after buying an additional 428 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Gen Digital by 5.9% in the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 7,735 shares of the company’s stock valued at $210,000 after acquiring an additional 430 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.38% of the company’s stock.

Key Stories Impacting Gen Digital

Here are the key news stories impacting Gen Digital this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Quarterly results exceeded expectations. Gen Digital reported fiscal Q1 2027 adjusted EPS of $0.71, versus the $0.69 consensus estimate, while revenue increased 6.3% year over year to $1.34 billion, topping expectations of $1.31 billion. EPS also improved from $0.64 a year earlier. Gen Digital quarterly earnings report
• Positive Sentiment: Management raised fiscal 2027 targets. Gen Digital now expects full-year EPS of $2.87 to $2.97 and revenue of $5.4 billion to $5.5 billion, above analyst consensus of $2.83 EPS and approximately $5.4 billion in revenue. Second-quarter EPS guidance of $0.71 to $0.73 also exceeds the $0.70 consensus estimate. Reuters report on Gen Digital’s raised forecast
• Positive Sentiment: Cybersecurity demand remains supportive. The company cited strong demand for its family of digital-security products, double-digit bookings growth and increasing online threats powered by artificial intelligence. These trends support recurring revenue and Gen Digital’s growth outlook. Gen Digital fiscal Q1 2027 results release
• Positive Sentiment: Barclays raised its price target from $27 to $32 while maintaining an Equal Weight rating, suggesting additional potential upside based on the firm’s updated valuation. Benzinga analyst update
• Neutral Sentiment: Gen Digital declared a quarterly dividend of $0.125 per share. Investors of record on August 17 will receive payment on September 9. The dividend provides ongoing shareholder income, although the 1.7% yield is unlikely to be the primary catalyst for the stock.
• Negative Sentiment: Wells Fargo raised its price target from $22 to $28 but retained an Equal Weight rating. The new target remains below the stock’s current trading level, signaling valuation caution despite the improved earnings outlook. Benzinga analyst update

Gen Digital Company Profile

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.