Gen Digital (NASDAQ:GEN) Rating Lowered to “Strong Sell” at Zacks Research

Gen Digital (NASDAQ:GEN) was downgraded by analysts at Zacks Research from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a note issued to investors on Tuesday,Zacks.com reports.

Several other analysts also recently weighed in on the company. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed 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. Royal Bank Of Canada reduced their price objective on shares of Gen Digital from $33.00 to $29.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 7th. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on shares of Gen Digital in a research note on Friday, October 3rd. They set a “hold” rating and a $31.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Evercore ISI upped their price target on shares of Gen Digital from $35.00 to $37.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, November 7th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $35.43.

Gen Digital Stock Up 0.2%

GEN stock opened at $25.19 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.51, a current ratio of 0.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.43. Gen Digital has a fifty-two week low of $22.74 and a fifty-two week high of $32.22. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $26.78 and its 200 day simple moving average is $28.14. The stock has a market cap of $15.54 billion, a PE ratio of 27.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.84 and a beta of 1.09.

Gen Digital (NASDAQ:GEN) last posted its 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 net margin of 12.74% and a return on equity of 57.09%. The firm had revenue of $1.22 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.20 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.54 EPS. Gen Digital’s revenue was up 25.3% on a year-over-year basis. 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.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Ondrej Vlcek sold 113,674 shares of Gen Digital stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the director directly owned 3,932,980 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $106,662,417.60. This trade represents a 2.81% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director John C. Chrystal purchased 5,000 shares of Gen Digital 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 transaction, the director owned 28,419 shares in the company, valued at $771,291.66. This represents a 21.35% increase in their position. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. Company insiders own 9.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Gen Digital

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Aviva PLC raised its position in shares of Gen Digital by 6.6% during the second quarter. Aviva PLC now owns 407,156 shares of the company’s stock valued at $11,970,000 after buying an additional 25,315 shares during the last quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group increased its stake in Gen Digital by 48.1% in the second quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 978,066 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,755,000 after acquiring an additional 317,468 shares during the period. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd acquired a new position in Gen Digital in the second quarter worth about $394,000. Mackenzie Financial Corp raised its position in Gen Digital by 39.4% in the second quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 359,142 shares of the company’s stock worth $10,559,000 after purchasing an additional 101,580 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Generali Investments CEE investicni spolecnost a.s. lifted its stake in Gen Digital by 15.5% during the second quarter. Generali Investments CEE investicni spolecnost a.s. now owns 170,049 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,999,000 after purchasing an additional 22,884 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.38% of the company’s stock.

About Gen Digital

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.