Gen Digital (NASDAQ:GEN) Rating Lowered to Hold at Wall Street Zen

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

Several other research analysts have also issued reports on GEN. Barclays increased their price target 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 shares of Gen Digital from $27.00 to $30.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday, August 7th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Gen Digital from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 15th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Gen Digital from $22.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, August 7th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group cut Gen Digital from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, April 27th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has given a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Gen Digital presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $31.67.

Gen Digital Stock Down 3.8%

GEN stock opened at $27.41 on Friday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $26.20 and its 200 day simple moving average is $23.46. The company has a quick ratio of 0.47, a current ratio of 0.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.00. The company has a market cap of $16.41 billion, a PE ratio of 15.94 and a beta of 1.21. Gen Digital has a twelve month low of $17.78 and a twelve month high of $31.88.

Gen Digital (NASDAQ:GEN) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 business had revenue of $1.34 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.31 billion. Gen Digital had a return on equity of 55.93% and a net margin of 20.73%.Gen Digital’s quarterly revenue was up 6.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business 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, research analysts anticipate that Gen Digital will post 2.61 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Gen Digital

In related news, insider Travis Michael Witteveen sold 30,000 shares of the 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 transaction, the insider directly owned 496,545 shares in the company, valued at $14,608,353.90. This represents a 5.70% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director John C. Chrystal acquired 3,000 shares of Gen Digital stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 4th. The stock was acquired at an average cost 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $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. 9.70% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Gen Digital

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Larson Financial Group LLC boosted its position in shares of Gen Digital by 20.9% during the third quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 2,255 shares of the company’s stock worth $64,000 after purchasing an additional 390 shares in the last quarter. Trust Co. of Vermont acquired a new position in shares of Gen Digital in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $32,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Gen Digital by 14.5% in the 1st quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,376 shares of the company’s stock valued at $64,000 after purchasing an additional 427 shares during the period. Vident Advisory LLC increased its stake in Gen Digital by 1.6% during the 3rd quarter. Vident Advisory LLC now owns 26,906 shares of the company’s stock worth $764,000 after purchasing an additional 428 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in Gen Digital by 5.9% during the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 7,735 shares of the company’s stock worth $210,000 after buying an additional 430 shares during the period. 81.38% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.