Gen Digital Sees Unusually High Options Volume (NASDAQ:GEN)

Gen Digital Inc. (NASDAQ:GEN) was the recipient of unusually large options trading on Tuesday. Traders bought 8,314 call options on the company. This represents an increase of approximately 1,154% compared to the typical daily volume of 663 call options.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on GEN shares. Wall Street Zen raised Gen Digital from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, May 9th. Wells Fargo & Company assumed coverage on Gen Digital in a report on Tuesday, March 3rd. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $22.00 target price on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded Gen Digital from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, April 27th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Gen Digital in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Finally, Barclays raised their price objective on Gen Digital from $26.00 to $27.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, May 8th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $31.29.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Gen Digital

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. International Assets Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Gen Digital during the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Clearstead Advisors LLC boosted 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 buying an additional 400 shares during the last quarter. Weiss Asset Management LP purchased a new position in shares of Gen Digital in the 1st quarter worth approximately $41,000. TD Private Client Wealth LLC boosted its stake in shares of Gen Digital by 65.8% in the 4th quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 1,539 shares of the company’s stock worth $42,000 after buying an additional 611 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geneos Wealth Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Gen Digital by 221.5% in the 1st quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 1,717 shares of the company’s stock worth $46,000 after buying an additional 1,183 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.38% of the company’s stock.

Gen Digital Trading Up 0.3%

Shares of GEN stock traded up $0.07 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $24.41. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 4,637,231 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,943,036. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $20.23 and its 200-day simple moving average is $23.70. Gen Digital has a 52 week low of $17.78 and a 52 week high of $32.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.07, a quick ratio of 0.47 and a current ratio of 0.40. The company has a market cap of $14.78 billion, a PE ratio of 15.40 and a beta of 1.10.

Gen Digital (NASDAQ:GEN) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 7th. The company reported $0.67 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.65 by $0.02. Gen Digital had a return on equity of 55.47% and a net margin of 19.46%.The firm had revenue of $1.28 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.25 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.59 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 27.0% on a year-over-year basis. Gen Digital has set its Q1 2027 guidance at 0.680-0.700 EPS and its FY 2027 guidance at 2.850-2.950 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Gen Digital will post 2.66 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Gen Digital Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 18th will be paid a dividend of $0.125 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 18th. This represents a $0.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.0%. Gen Digital’s payout ratio is 31.65%.

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.