Gen Digital (NASDAQ:GEN) Upgraded at Zacks Research

Gen Digital (NASDAQ:GEN) was upgraded by Zacks Research from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Wednesday,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other analysts have also issued reports on the company. Evercore lifted their target price on Gen Digital from $35.00 to $37.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, November 7th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Gen Digital in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. Wall Street Zen raised Gen Digital from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Sunday, February 8th. Barclays decreased their price target on shares of 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. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada dropped their price target on shares of Gen Digital from $33.00 to $29.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 7th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $35.29.

Gen Digital Trading Down 3.3%

GEN opened at $22.34 on Wednesday. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $25.66 and its 200-day moving average is $27.27. Gen Digital has a 52-week low of $22.14 and a 52-week high of $32.22. The company has a quick ratio of 0.47, a current ratio of 0.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.50. The firm has a market capitalization of $13.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.03, a P/E/G ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 1.09.

Gen Digital (NASDAQ:GEN) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 5th. The company reported $0.64 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.63 by $0.01. Gen Digital had a net margin of 12.76% and a return on equity of 56.76%. The business had revenue of $1.24 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.23 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.56 EPS. The business’s 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. Analysts expect that Gen Digital will post 2.05 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Ondrej Vlcek sold 113,674 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $27.12, for a total transaction of $3,082,838.88. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 3,932,980 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $106,662,417.60. This represents a 2.81% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 9.30% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Gen Digital

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Aviva PLC boosted its stake in shares of Gen Digital by 6.6% during the 2nd quarter. Aviva PLC now owns 407,156 shares of the company’s stock valued at $11,970,000 after buying an additional 25,315 shares during the period. Schroder Investment Management Group raised its holdings in shares of Gen Digital by 48.1% during the second quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 978,066 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,755,000 after acquiring an additional 317,468 shares in the last quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd acquired a new stake in Gen Digital during the second quarter valued at $394,000. Mackenzie Financial Corp boosted its position in Gen Digital by 39.4% during the second quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 359,142 shares of the company’s stock valued at $10,559,000 after purchasing an additional 101,580 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Teacher Retirement System of Texas grew its stake in Gen Digital by 481.8% in the third quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 462,830 shares of the company’s stock valued at $13,140,000 after purchasing an additional 383,279 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.38% of the company’s stock.

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.