NETGEAR (NASDAQ:NTGR) Cut to “Strong Sell” at Zacks Research

Zacks Research downgraded shares of NETGEAR (NASDAQ:NTGR) from a hold rating to a strong sell rating in a report released on Monday,Zacks.com reports.

Several other research firms have also issued reports on NTGR. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d)” rating on shares of NETGEAR in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of NETGEAR from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, January 17th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $36.00 price objective on NETGEAR in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. Finally, Raymond James Financial increased their price target on shares of NETGEAR from $29.00 to $37.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $36.00.

NETGEAR Price Performance

Shares of NETGEAR stock opened at $20.53 on Monday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $23.20 and its 200 day moving average is $26.69. NETGEAR has a one year low of $18.75 and a one year high of $36.86. The firm has a market cap of $583.05 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -33.11 and a beta of 1.15.

NETGEAR (NASDAQ:NTGR) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 4th. The communications equipment provider reported $0.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.05 by $0.21. NETGEAR had a negative net margin of 2.56% and a negative return on equity of 2.40%. The business had revenue of $182.47 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $177.26 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned ($0.06) earnings per share. NETGEAR’s revenue was up .0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts expect that NETGEAR will post -1.84 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at NETGEAR

In related news, insider Pramod Badjate sold 3,000 shares of NETGEAR stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $20.97, for a total transaction of $62,910.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 144,586 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,031,968.42. This trade represents a 2.03% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 2.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of NETGEAR

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of NTGR. Comerica Bank raised its position in NETGEAR by 64.8% in the 3rd quarter. Comerica Bank now owns 1,091 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 429 shares during the last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp increased its position in shares of NETGEAR by 44.7% during the 3rd quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 2,323 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $75,000 after purchasing an additional 718 shares during the last quarter. Bailard Inc. lifted its stake in shares of NETGEAR by 9.9% in the 2nd quarter. Bailard Inc. now owns 10,000 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $291,000 after purchasing an additional 900 shares during the period. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC boosted its holdings in shares of NETGEAR by 35.2% in the second quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 3,475 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $101,000 after buying an additional 904 shares during the last quarter. Finally, FNY Investment Advisers LLC grew its position in shares of NETGEAR by 50.0% during the 3rd quarter. FNY Investment Advisers LLC now owns 3,000 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $97,000 after acquiring an additional 1,000 shares during the period. 82.97% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.