Wells Fargo & Company Issues Positive Forecast for Gen Digital (NASDAQ:GEN) Stock Price

Gen Digital (NASDAQ:GEN) had its price target hoisted by Wells Fargo & Company from $22.00 to $28.00 in a research report released on Friday,Benzinga reports. Wells Fargo & Company currently has an equal weight rating on the stock.

Other equities analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. Weiss Ratings raised Gen Digital from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 15th. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price target on Gen Digital from $27.00 to $30.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday. Argus upgraded Gen Digital to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded Gen Digital from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, April 27th. Finally, Barclays lifted their price objective on Gen Digital from $26.00 to $27.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, May 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has issued a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Gen Digital has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $31.67.

Gen Digital Stock Up 3.8%

Shares of GEN stock opened at $29.17 on Friday. Gen Digital has a 12 month low of $17.78 and a 12 month high of $32.22. The stock has a market cap of $17.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.96 and a beta of 1.21. The company has a current ratio of 0.40, a quick ratio of 0.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.07. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $25.96 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $23.33.

Gen Digital (NASDAQ:GEN) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The company reported $0.71 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.69 by $0.02. Gen Digital had a net margin of 20.73% and a return on equity of 57.01%. The business had revenue of $1.34 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.31 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.64 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 6.3% compared to the same quarter last year. 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 expect that Gen Digital will post 2.61 earnings per share for the current year.

Gen Digital Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 9th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 17th will be issued a $0.125 dividend. This represents a $0.50 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 17th. Gen Digital’s payout ratio is 31.65%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Gen Digital news, Director Ondrej Vlcek sold 100,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $24.78, for a total value of $2,478,000.00. Following the sale, the director owned 3,832,724 shares in the company, valued at $94,974,900.72. The trade was a 2.54% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available 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 cost of $27.06 per share, with a total value of $81,180.00. Following the acquisition, the director directly owned 31,419 shares in the company, valued at approximately $850,198.14. The trade was a 10.56% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. 9.70% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Gen Digital

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Larson Financial Group LLC lifted its stake in Gen Digital by 20.9% in 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 during the last quarter. Trust Co. of Vermont bought a new position in shares of Gen Digital during the second quarter valued at approximately $32,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Gen Digital by 14.5% during the first 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 during the last quarter. Vident Advisory LLC raised its holdings in shares of Gen Digital by 1.6% in the third quarter. Vident Advisory LLC now owns 26,906 shares of the company’s stock worth $764,000 after buying an additional 428 shares during the period. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Gen Digital by 5.9% in the fourth 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 currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Gen Digital News Summary

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.