Gen Digital (NASDAQ:GEN) Stock Lifted to “Buy” by Wall Street Zen

Gen Digital (NASDAQ:GEN) was upgraded by Wall Street Zen from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note issued to investors on Saturday, Wall Street Zen reports.

Other research analysts also recently issued research reports about the company. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price target on Gen Digital from $24.00 to $27.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 29th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of Gen Digital from $32.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 29th. Barclays boosted their price target on Gen Digital from $27.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 7th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Gen Digital from $22.00 to $28.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 7th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded Gen Digital from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Wednesday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has assigned a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $30.25.

Gen Digital Stock Down 2.6%

Shares of GEN opened at $29.79 on Friday. Gen Digital has a 52 week low of $17.78 and a 52 week high of $31.65. The company has a quick ratio of 0.37, a current ratio of 0.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.57. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $26.57 and its 200-day moving average price is $24.49. The company has a market capitalization of $17.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.35, a PEG ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 1.24.

Gen Digital (NASDAQ:GEN) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 28th. The company reported $0.74 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.72 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $1.37 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.34 billion. Gen Digital had a net margin of 23.07% and a return on equity of 56.80%. Gen Digital’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.62 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Gen Digital will post 2.65 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Gen Digital

In other news, insider Travis Witteveen sold 30,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $29.42, for a total value of $882,600.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 496,545 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $14,608,353.90. The trade was a 5.70% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Ondrej Vlcek sold 200,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $30.00, for a total transaction of $6,000,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 3,332,904 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $99,987,120. The trade was a 5.66% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 588,508 shares of company stock valued at $17,248,593. Company insiders own 9.70% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Aberdeen Group plc increased its stake in Gen Digital by 2.5% during the 3rd quarter. Aberdeen Group plc now owns 410,351 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,036,000 after purchasing an additional 10,144 shares in the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP grew its holdings in shares of Gen Digital by 5.3% during the third quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 9,404 shares of the company’s stock worth $207,000 after buying an additional 472 shares in the last quarter. Eurizon Capital SGR S.p.A. lifted its stake in shares of Gen Digital by 3,146.4% in the 3rd quarter. Eurizon Capital SGR S.p.A. now owns 1,164,810 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,628,000 after acquiring an additional 1,128,930 shares during the period. CENTRAL TRUST Co increased its position in shares of Gen Digital by 14.7% in the 3rd quarter. CENTRAL TRUST Co now owns 4,564 shares of the company’s stock worth $100,000 after purchasing an additional 584 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Maryland State Retirement & Pension System grew its holdings in shares of Gen Digital by 13.9% during the 3rd quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System now owns 30,536 shares of the company’s stock valued at $672,000 after acquiring an additional 3,718 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.38% of the company’s stock.

About Gen Digital

Gen Digital Inc (NASDAQ: GEN) is a cybersecurity company that provides digital safety, privacy, and identity protection products for consumers. Its services are designed to help protect devices, personal information, online accounts, and digital identities from malware, fraud, identity theft, scams, and other cyber threats.

The company operates a portfolio of consumer brands that includes Norton, Avast, LifeLock, Avira, AVG, ReputationDefender, and CCleaner. Its offerings include antivirus and device security software, virtual private network services, password management, identity theft monitoring and restoration support, privacy tools, scam protection, and performance and optimization utilities.

Gen Digital serves customers internationally through direct subscriptions and distribution partnerships.