Wall Street Zen Upgrades NETGEAR (NASDAQ:NTGR) to “Hold”

NETGEAR (NASDAQ:NTGR) was upgraded by research analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note issued to investors on Saturday.

Several other equities analysts have also weighed in on NTGR. Zacks Research raised shares of NETGEAR from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 10th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d)” rating on shares of NETGEAR in a report on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus set a $36.00 price target on shares of NETGEAR in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $36.00.

NETGEAR Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ NTGR opened at $21.57 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $606.33 million, a P/E ratio of -34.79 and a beta of 1.16. NETGEAR has a 12 month low of $18.75 and a 12 month high of $36.86. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $21.19 and a 200-day moving average of $25.67.

NETGEAR (NASDAQ:NTGR) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 4th. The communications equipment provider reported $0.26 earnings per share 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 business had revenue of $182.47 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $177.26 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned ($0.06) EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up .0% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts predict that NETGEAR will post -1.84 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Pramod Badjate sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.97, for a total transaction of $62,910.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 144,586 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,031,968.42. This represents a 2.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 2.30% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On NETGEAR

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Hsbc Holdings PLC lifted its position in shares of NETGEAR by 12.2% during the 4th quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 30,030 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $741,000 after acquiring an additional 3,277 shares during the period. XTX Topco Ltd increased its position in shares of NETGEAR by 135.7% in the fourth quarter. XTX Topco Ltd now owns 17,048 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $418,000 after purchasing an additional 9,815 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its stake in NETGEAR by 2.4% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 156,222 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $3,832,000 after purchasing an additional 3,663 shares in the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC raised its stake in NETGEAR by 386.1% in the fourth quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 236,078 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $5,791,000 after purchasing an additional 187,515 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Engineers Gate Manager LP lifted its position in NETGEAR by 36.5% during the fourth quarter. Engineers Gate Manager LP now owns 58,020 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $1,423,000 after purchasing an additional 15,512 shares during the period. 82.97% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.