Gen Digital (NASDAQ:GEN) Raised to “Strong-Buy” at Jefferies Financial Group

Gen Digital (NASDAQ:GEN) was upgraded by equities researchers at Jefferies Financial Group from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note issued on Wednesday,Zacks.com reports.

Other analysts also recently issued reports about the stock. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Gen Digital in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company initiated coverage on shares of Gen Digital in a report on Tuesday, March 3rd. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $22.00 price target on the stock. Zacks Research raised Gen Digital from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 18th. Wall Street Zen raised Gen Digital from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Sunday, February 8th. Finally, Barclays dropped their target price on shares of Gen Digital from $33.00 to $32.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 6th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have assigned a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Gen Digital presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $32.71.

Gen Digital Price Performance

Shares of Gen Digital stock opened at $20.68 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.47, a current ratio of 0.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.50. Gen Digital has a 52 week low of $20.61 and a 52 week high of $32.22. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $23.94 and its 200-day simple moving average is $26.32. The company has a market capitalization of $12.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.32, a PEG ratio of 0.70 and a beta of 1.11.

Gen Digital (NASDAQ:GEN) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 5th. The company reported $0.64 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.63 by $0.01. Gen Digital had a return on equity of 56.76% and a net margin of 12.76%.The company had revenue of $1.24 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.23 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.56 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 25.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Gen Digital has set its Q4 2026 guidance at 0.640-0.660 EPS and its FY 2026 guidance at 2.540-2.560 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Gen Digital will post 2.05 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Gen Digital

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in GEN. International Assets Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Gen Digital in the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. Spire Wealth Management raised its holdings in Gen Digital by 1,183.3% in the 3rd quarter. Spire Wealth Management now owns 1,078 shares of the company’s stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 994 shares during the last quarter. True Wealth Design LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Gen Digital by 92.0% during the 3rd quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 1,104 shares of the company’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 529 shares during the last quarter. Clearstead Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Gen Digital by 48.6% in the 3rd quarter. Clearstead Advisors LLC now owns 1,223 shares of the company’s stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 400 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CYBER HORNET ETFs LLC purchased a new position in shares of Gen Digital during the 2nd quarter worth $44,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.