Short Interest in NETGEAR, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTGR) Increases By 42.5%

NETGEAR, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTGR) saw a significant increase in short interest in the month of January. As of January 30th, there was short interest totaling 2,014,977 shares, an increase of 42.5% from the January 15th total of 1,413,956 shares. Approximately 7.3% of the company’s stock are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 504,162 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 4.0 days. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 504,162 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 4.0 days. Approximately 7.3% of the company’s stock are short sold.

NETGEAR Price Performance

Shares of NETGEAR stock traded up $1.49 during trading on Monday, hitting $21.94. 734,481 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 641,637. The stock has a market cap of $623.10 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -35.39 and a beta of 1.15. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $22.88 and its 200 day moving average price is $26.63. NETGEAR has a 12-month low of $18.75 and a 12-month high of $36.86.

NETGEAR (NASDAQ:NTGR) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 4th. The communications equipment provider reported $0.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.05 by $0.21. The company had revenue of $182.47 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $177.26 million. NETGEAR had a negative net margin of 2.56% and a negative return on equity of 2.40%. NETGEAR’s revenue for the quarter was up .0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted ($0.06) earnings per share. As a group, research analysts forecast that NETGEAR will post -1.84 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other NETGEAR news, insider Pramod Badjate sold 3,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.97, for a total value of $62,910.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 144,586 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,031,968.42. This trade represents a 2.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 2.30% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On NETGEAR

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in NTGR. Johnson Financial Group Inc. acquired a new position in shares of NETGEAR during the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Comerica Bank increased its position in NETGEAR by 64.8% during the third quarter. Comerica Bank now owns 1,091 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 429 shares during the last quarter. IFP Advisors Inc raised its stake in NETGEAR by 161.7% during the fourth quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 2,243 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $55,000 after purchasing an additional 1,386 shares during the period. FNY Investment Advisers LLC acquired a new position in shares of NETGEAR in the 2nd quarter valued at $58,000. Finally, Rexford Capital Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of NETGEAR during the 2nd quarter worth $58,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.97% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have issued reports on NTGR. Stifel Nicolaus set a $36.00 target price on NETGEAR in a report on Thursday, February 5th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d)” rating on shares of NETGEAR in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Wall Street Zen cut NETGEAR from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, January 17th. Raymond James Financial increased their price target on NETGEAR from $29.00 to $37.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 30th. Finally, Zacks Research lowered NETGEAR from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Monday, February 9th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $36.00.

NETGEAR Company Profile

NETGEAR, Inc (NASDAQ: NTGR) is a global provider of networking solutions for consumer, business and service provider markets. The company designs, develops and markets a comprehensive portfolio of products that enable high-speed connectivity, data storage and network security for homes, small to medium-sized businesses and large enterprises.

Its product lineup includes Wi-Fi routers, mesh networking systems, cable modems, mobile broadband gateways and Ethernet switches—offered in both managed and unmanaged configurations.