NETGEAR (NASDAQ:NTGR) Lowered to Strong Sell Rating by Zacks Research

Zacks Research cut shares of NETGEAR (NASDAQ:NTGR) from a hold rating to a strong sell rating in a research report released on Monday morning,Zacks.com reports.

Several other research analysts also recently weighed in on the stock. Raymond James Financial upped their price objective on shares of NETGEAR from $29.00 to $37.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 30th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $36.00 target price on shares of NETGEAR in a report on Thursday, February 5th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d)” rating on shares of NETGEAR in a report on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered NETGEAR from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, January 17th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $36.00.

NETGEAR Trading Down 0.1%

NETGEAR stock traded down $0.02 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $20.60. The stock had a trading volume of 136,098 shares, compared to its average volume of 542,401. NETGEAR has a 12 month low of $18.75 and a 12 month high of $36.86. The company has a market capitalization of $584.90 million, a P/E ratio of -33.11 and a beta of 1.15. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $23.31 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $26.73.

NETGEAR (NASDAQ:NTGR) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 4th. The communications equipment provider reported $0.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.05 by $0.21. The business had revenue of $182.47 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $177.26 million. NETGEAR had a negative return on equity of 2.40% and a negative net margin of 2.56%.The company’s quarterly revenue was up .0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned ($0.06) earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that NETGEAR will post -1.84 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at NETGEAR

In related news, insider Pramod Badjate sold 3,000 shares of NETGEAR stock in a transaction on Monday, February 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.97, for a total transaction of $62,910.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 144,586 shares in the company, 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 SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 2.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On NETGEAR

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of NTGR. Comerica Bank grew its holdings in NETGEAR by 64.8% during the third quarter. Comerica Bank now owns 1,091 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 429 shares during the period. FNY Investment Advisers LLC bought a new position in shares of NETGEAR during the 2nd quarter worth $58,000. Rexford Capital Inc. purchased a new stake in NETGEAR in the 2nd quarter worth about $58,000. IFP Advisors Inc raised its stake in NETGEAR by 161.7% in the 4th quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 2,243 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $55,000 after acquiring an additional 1,386 shares during the period. Finally, Jones Financial Companies Lllp lifted its holdings in NETGEAR by 44.7% during the third quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 2,323 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $75,000 after purchasing an additional 718 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.97% of the company’s stock.

About NETGEAR

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.