NETGEAR (NASDAQ:NTGR) Rating Increased to Hold at Zacks Research

NETGEAR (NASDAQ:NTGR) was upgraded by Zacks Research from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report issued on Tuesday,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other brokerages have also weighed in on NTGR. Stifel Nicolaus set a $36.00 target price on NETGEAR in a research report on Thursday, February 5th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of NETGEAR from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Sunday, March 1st. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d)” rating on shares of NETGEAR in a report on Monday, December 29th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $36.00.

NETGEAR Trading Up 1.0%

NETGEAR stock opened at $21.35 on Tuesday. NETGEAR has a 12 month low of $18.75 and a 12 month high of $36.86. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $21.59 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $26.15. The firm has a market cap of $600.21 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -34.43 and a beta of 1.16.

NETGEAR (NASDAQ:NTGR) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 4th. The communications equipment provider reported $0.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.05 by $0.21. NETGEAR had a negative return on equity of 2.40% and a negative net margin of 2.56%.The firm had revenue of $182.47 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $177.26 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted ($0.06) earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up .0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts forecast that NETGEAR will post -1.84 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other NETGEAR news, insider Pramod Badjate sold 3,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.97, for a total value of $62,910.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 144,586 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,031,968.42. This trade represents a 2.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 2.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On NETGEAR

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in NTGR. Johnson Financial Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of NETGEAR in the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Comerica Bank boosted its holdings in shares of NETGEAR by 64.8% in the third quarter. Comerica Bank now owns 1,091 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 429 shares during the last quarter. IFP Advisors Inc grew its position in NETGEAR by 161.7% during the fourth quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 2,243 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $55,000 after buying an additional 1,386 shares during the period. Rexford Capital Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of NETGEAR in the 2nd quarter worth $58,000. Finally, Jones Financial Companies Lllp lifted its holdings in NETGEAR by 44.7% during the third quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 2,323 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $75,000 after purchasing an additional 718 shares in the last quarter. 82.97% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About NETGEAR

NETGEAR, Inc (NASDAQ: NTGR) is a global provider of networking solutions for consumer, business and service provider markets. The company designs, develops and markets a comprehensive portfolio of products that enable high-speed connectivity, data storage and network security for homes, small to medium-sized businesses and large enterprises.

Its product lineup includes Wi-Fi routers, mesh networking systems, cable modems, mobile broadband gateways and Ethernet switches—offered in both managed and unmanaged configurations.