Gen Digital (NASDAQ:GEN) Cut to Strong Sell at Zacks Research

Zacks Research lowered shares of Gen Digital (NASDAQ:GEN) from a hold rating to a strong sell rating in a report issued on Tuesday morning,Zacks.com reports.

GEN has been the topic of several other research reports. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Gen Digital in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Wall Street Zen raised Gen Digital from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Sunday, October 12th. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on Gen Digital in a research report on Friday, October 3rd. They issued a “hold” rating and a $31.00 price target for the company. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on Gen Digital from $35.00 to $37.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, November 7th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada decreased their target price on Gen Digital from $33.00 to $29.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 7th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $35.43.

Gen Digital Stock Up 0.1%

Gen Digital stock opened at $25.22 on Tuesday. Gen Digital has a one year low of $22.74 and a one year high of $32.22. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $26.75 and a 200 day moving average of $28.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.43, a quick ratio of 0.51 and a current ratio of 0.51. The stock has a market cap of $15.55 billion, a PE ratio of 27.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.84 and a beta of 1.09.

Gen Digital (NASDAQ:GEN) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 6th. The company reported $0.62 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.61 by $0.01. Gen Digital had a return on equity of 57.09% and a net margin of 12.74%.The business had revenue of $1.22 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.20 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.54 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 25.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Gen Digital has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.510-2.56 EPS and its Q3 2026 guidance at 0.620-0.64 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Gen Digital will post 2.05 EPS for the current year.

Gen Digital Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 17th were paid a $0.125 dividend. This represents a $0.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 17th. Gen Digital’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 54.35%.

Insider Activity

In other Gen Digital news, Director John C. Chrystal purchased 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 13th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $27.14 per share, with a total value of $135,700.00. Following the acquisition, the director owned 28,419 shares in the company, valued at approximately $771,291.66. The trade was a 21.35% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Ondrej Vlcek sold 113,674 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 10th. The stock was 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. The trade was a 2.81% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 9.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Gen Digital

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of GEN. True Wealth Design LLC increased its stake in Gen Digital by 92.0% in the 3rd quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 1,104 shares of the company’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 529 shares during the period. Spire Wealth Management raised its stake in shares of Gen Digital by 1,183.3% during the third quarter. Spire Wealth Management now owns 1,078 shares of the company’s stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 994 shares in the last quarter. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Gen Digital in the second quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Clearstead Advisors LLC grew its stake in Gen Digital by 48.6% in the third quarter. Clearstead Advisors LLC now owns 1,223 shares of the company’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 400 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CYBER HORNET ETFs LLC purchased a new position in Gen Digital during the 2nd quarter worth $44,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.38% of the company’s stock.

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.