NETGEAR (NASDAQ:NTGR) Shares Gap Up After Better-Than-Expected Earnings

NETGEAR, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTGR) shares gapped up prior to trading on Thursday following a stronger than expected earnings report. The stock had previously closed at $24.12, but opened at $28.10. NETGEAR shares last traded at $28.98, with a volume of 185,824 shares.

The communications equipment provider reported $0.02 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.35) by $0.37. The company had revenue of $162.06 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $152.24 million. NETGEAR had a net margin of 1.83% and a negative return on equity of 9.24%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 1.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned ($0.28) earnings per share.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have commented on NTGR shares. StockNews.com cut shares of NETGEAR from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. Raymond James upped their price objective on NETGEAR from $22.00 to $29.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Murray Bryan sold 3,848 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $23.92, for a total transaction of $92,044.16. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 193,032 shares in the company, valued at $4,617,325.44. The trade was a 1.95 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Charles J. Prober sold 10,929 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $26.64, for a total transaction of $291,148.56. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 507,763 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,526,806.32. The trade was a 2.11 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 7.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of NETGEAR

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in NTGR. New York State Teachers Retirement System acquired a new position in shares of NETGEAR in the fourth quarter worth about $72,000. R Squared Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of NETGEAR in the fourth quarter valued at about $72,000. CWM LLC lifted its stake in NETGEAR by 35.4% in the 1st quarter. CWM LLC now owns 2,916 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $71,000 after purchasing an additional 763 shares in the last quarter. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in NETGEAR by 19.6% during the fourth quarter. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 2,917 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $81,000 after buying an additional 479 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Picton Mahoney Asset Management purchased a new stake in shares of NETGEAR in the fourth quarter valued at about $92,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.97% of the company’s stock.

NETGEAR Stock Performance

The company’s 50-day moving average price is $23.58 and its 200 day moving average price is $24.91. The stock has a market cap of $805.90 million, a PE ratio of 70.00 and a beta of 1.03.

NETGEAR Company Profile

NETGEAR, Inc provides connectivity solutions the Americas; Europe, the Middle East, Africa; and the Asia Pacific. The company operates in two segments, Connected Home, and NETGEAR for Business. The Connected Home segment offers Wi-Fi routers and home Wi-Fi mesh systems, Wi-Fi hotspots, digital displays, broadband modems, Wi-Fi gateways, Wi-Fi range extenders, powerline adapters, and Wi-Fi network adapters; and provides value-added service offerings, including security and privacy, technical support, and parental controls.