Gen Digital (NASDAQ:GEN) Upgraded to Hold at Zacks Research

Gen Digital (NASDAQ:GEN) was upgraded by stock analysts at Zacks Research from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report released on Wednesday,Zacks.com reports.

Other research analysts have also issued research reports about the company. Evercore increased their price objective on Gen Digital from $35.00 to $37.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, November 7th. Royal Bank Of Canada lowered their price target on Gen Digital from $33.00 to $29.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 7th. Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of Gen Digital from $33.00 to $32.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 6th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Gen Digital from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Sunday, February 8th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Gen Digital in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $35.29.

Gen Digital Stock Performance

Shares of GEN opened at $22.34 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $13.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 1.09. The company’s fifty day moving average is $25.66 and its 200-day moving average is $27.27. The company has a quick ratio of 0.47, a current ratio of 0.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.50. Gen Digital has a 12 month low of $22.14 and a 12 month high of $32.22.

Gen Digital (NASDAQ:GEN) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 5th. The company reported $0.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.63 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $1.24 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.23 billion. Gen Digital had a net margin of 12.76% and a return on equity of 56.76%. Gen Digital’s revenue for the quarter was up 25.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.56 earnings per share. 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. Equities analysts expect that Gen Digital will post 2.05 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Gen Digital

In other Gen Digital news, Director Ondrej Vlcek sold 113,674 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $27.12, for a total value of $3,082,838.88. Following the sale, the director directly owned 3,932,980 shares in the company, valued at $106,662,417.60. This trade represents a 2.81% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 9.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Gen Digital

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Choreo LLC lifted its position in shares of Gen Digital by 3.2% in the 2nd quarter. Choreo LLC now owns 10,116 shares of the company’s stock worth $297,000 after acquiring an additional 315 shares during the period. Beacon Pointe Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Gen Digital by 3.9% during the second quarter. Beacon Pointe Advisors LLC now owns 9,505 shares of the company’s stock worth $279,000 after buying an additional 357 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. increased its holdings in Gen Digital by 2.4% in the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 16,210 shares of the company’s stock valued at $441,000 after buying an additional 387 shares during the period. Larson Financial Group LLC raised its stake in shares of Gen Digital by 20.9% in the 3rd quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 2,255 shares of the company’s stock valued at $64,000 after buying an additional 390 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Clearstead Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Gen Digital by 48.6% during the 3rd quarter. Clearstead Advisors LLC now owns 1,223 shares of the company’s stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 400 shares during the period. 81.38% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.