Gen Digital (NASDAQ:GEN) Upgraded to Buy at Wall Street Zen

Gen Digital (NASDAQ:GEN) was upgraded by analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a note issued to investors on Sunday.

GEN has been the subject of several other research reports. Jefferies Financial Group raised Gen Digital from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 11th. Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of Gen Digital from $33.00 to $32.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 6th. Wells Fargo & Company initiated coverage on shares of Gen Digital in a research note on Tuesday, March 3rd. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $22.00 target price for the company. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Gen Digital from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 18th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Gen Digital in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have issued a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $32.71.

Gen Digital Stock Performance

Shares of GEN opened at $18.34 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.47, a quick ratio of 0.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.50. The firm has a market cap of $11.11 billion, a PE ratio of 18.91, a P/E/G ratio of 0.61 and a beta of 1.11. Gen Digital has a 12 month low of $18.20 and a 12 month high of $32.22. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $22.69 and a 200-day moving average price of $25.60.

Gen Digital (NASDAQ:GEN) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 5th. The company reported $0.64 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.63 by $0.01. Gen Digital had a return on equity of 56.76% and a net margin of 12.76%.The firm had revenue of $1.24 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.23 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.56 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 25.8% on a year-over-year basis. 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. Equities research analysts predict that Gen Digital will post 2.05 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. First Trust Advisors LP increased its holdings in Gen Digital by 22.3% in the 4th quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 19,941,546 shares of the company’s stock worth $542,211,000 after buying an additional 3,640,451 shares during the period. Amundi raised its position in Gen Digital by 273.3% during the 2nd quarter. Amundi now owns 4,303,552 shares of the company’s stock worth $128,289,000 after buying an additional 3,150,651 shares during the last quarter. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. acquired a new stake in Gen Digital during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $70,248,000. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership lifted its stake in Gen Digital by 36.0% during the 4th quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 8,978,710 shares of the company’s stock valued at $244,131,000 after acquiring an additional 2,377,874 shares during the period. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Gen Digital by 167.2% in the 4th quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 3,328,737 shares of the company’s stock valued at $90,508,000 after acquiring an additional 2,082,850 shares during the last quarter. 81.38% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.