Gen Digital (NASDAQ:GEN) Sees Large Volume Increase – Should You Buy?

Gen Digital Inc. (NASDAQ:GEN) shares saw unusually-high trading volume on Thursday . 10,783,226 shares changed hands during trading, an increase of 62% from the previous session’s volume of 6,644,292 shares.The stock last traded at $24.6430 and had previously closed at $26.23.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on GEN shares. Weiss Ratings raised Gen Digital from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 15th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Gen Digital from $22.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 7th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Gen Digital from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, August 16th. Barclays increased their price objective on Gen Digital from $27.00 to $32.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, August 7th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price objective on Gen Digital from $27.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Friday, August 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has given a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $31.60.

Gen Digital Price Performance

The stock has a market cap of $14.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 1.22. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $28.70 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $24.70. The company has a quick ratio of 0.47, a current ratio of 0.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.00.

Gen Digital (NASDAQ:GEN) last posted its earnings results 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 company had revenue of $1.34 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.31 billion. Gen Digital had a net margin of 20.73% and a return on equity of 55.93%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 6.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm 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. Equities research analysts forecast that Gen Digital Inc. will post 2.64 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Gen Digital Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 9th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 17th were paid a dividend of $0.125 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 17th. This represents a $0.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.1%. Gen Digital’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 29.07%.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Travis Witteveen sold 30,000 shares of Gen Digital stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $29.42, for a total transaction of $882,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 496,545 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,608,353.90. This trade represents a 5.70% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, COO Bryan Seuk Ko sold 28,248 shares of Gen Digital stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $30.67, for a total value of $866,366.16. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 744,262 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $22,826,515.54. This represents a 3.66% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold a total of 558,508 shares of company stock valued at $16,356,093 in the last quarter. 9.70% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Gen Digital

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. National Pension Service grew its stake in shares of Gen Digital by 254.6% during the 2nd quarter. National Pension Service now owns 257,971 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,421,000 after purchasing an additional 185,219 shares during the period. Capital Analysts LLC grew its position in Gen Digital by 38.7% during the second quarter. Capital Analysts LLC now owns 7,337 shares of the company’s stock valued at $183,000 after buying an additional 2,049 shares during the period. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC acquired a new stake in Gen Digital during the second quarter valued at $177,000. Baird Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in Gen Digital by 6.1% in the second quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 91,109 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,268,000 after buying an additional 5,203 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Allworth Financial LP increased its holdings in Gen Digital by 13.0% in the second quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 8,932 shares of the company’s stock valued at $222,000 after buying an additional 1,025 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.38% of the company’s stock.

Gen Digital Company Profile

Gen Digital Inc (NASDAQ: GEN) is a global cybersecurity and consumer safety company that provides products designed to help individuals and families protect their devices, online identities, personal information and digital privacy. The company serves customers through a portfolio of consumer-focused cybersecurity and privacy brands.

Its products and services include antivirus and device security, identity theft protection, virtual private networks, password management, online privacy tools, scam protection and family safety features.