Gen Digital (NASDAQ:GEN) Shares Climb 5.5% – Here’s Why

Shares of Gen Digital Inc. (NASDAQ:GEN) shot up 5.5% during mid-day trading on Wednesday. The company traded as high as $21.82 and last traded at $22.0010. 3,746,435 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 47% from the average session volume of 7,034,047 shares. The stock had previously closed at $20.85.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on GEN. Barclays upped their price objective on Gen Digital from $27.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 7th. 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. Royal Bank Of Canada dropped their target price on Gen Digital from $30.00 to $26.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, September 25th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Gen Digital from $22.00 to $28.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, August 7th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered Gen Digital from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, August 16th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has issued a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Gen Digital has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $30.80.

Gen Digital Stock Up 6.6%

The business has a 50 day moving average of $28.30 and a two-hundred day moving average of $24.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.00, a quick ratio of 0.47 and a current ratio of 0.47. The stock has a market capitalization of $13.30 billion, a PE ratio of 12.91, a PEG ratio of 0.65 and a beta of 1.22.

Gen Digital (NASDAQ:GEN) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The company reported $0.71 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.69 by $0.02. Gen Digital had a net margin of 20.73% and a return on equity of 55.93%. The business had revenue of $1.34 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.31 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.64 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 6.3% on a year-over-year basis. 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. Analysts predict that Gen Digital Inc. will post 2.66 EPS for the current year.

Gen Digital Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 9th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 17th were issued a dividend of $0.1250 per share. This represents a $0.50 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.3%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 17th. Gen Digital’s dividend payout ratio is currently 29.07%.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Gen Digital

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. acquired a new stake in shares of Gen Digital during the second quarter worth about $25,920,000. Hsbc Holdings PLC grew its holdings in Gen Digital by 49.4% during the second quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 1,324,155 shares of the company’s stock worth $32,976,000 after acquiring an additional 437,646 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Gen Digital during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $12,705,000. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company increased its holdings in shares of Gen Digital by 17.9% during the 1st quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 384,754 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,245,000 after purchasing an additional 58,319 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Railway Pension Investments Ltd increased its holdings in shares of Gen Digital by 98.6% during the 2nd quarter. Railway Pension Investments Ltd now owns 1,320,600 shares of the company’s stock valued at $32,870,000 after purchasing an additional 655,500 shares in the last quarter. 81.38% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Gen Digital

Gen Digital Inc is a global cybersecurity and digital safety company that provides products and services designed to help consumers protect their devices, online privacy, personal information and digital identities. Its offerings include antivirus and malware protection, online privacy tools, identity theft protection, password management, scam and fraud protection, and utilities that support device performance and security.

The company markets its products under a portfolio of well-known brands, including Norton, Avast, LifeLock, Avira, AVG, ReputationDefender and CCleaner.