Royal Bank Of Canada Cuts Gen Digital (NASDAQ:GEN) Price Target to $26.00

Gen Digital (NASDAQ:GEN) had its price objective reduced by Royal Bank Of Canada from $30.00 to $26.00 in a research report sent to investors on Friday, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Royal Bank Of Canada currently has a sector perform rating on the stock.

Other equities analysts have also issued reports about the company. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Gen Digital from $22.00 to $28.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 7th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Gen Digital from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 15th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Gen Digital from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, August 16th. Finally, Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Gen Digital from $27.00 to $32.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 7th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has given a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Gen Digital presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $30.80.

Gen Digital Price Performance

GEN stock opened at $21.62 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $12.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.57, a PEG ratio of 0.68 and a beta of 1.22. The company has a quick ratio of 0.47, a current ratio of 0.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.00. Gen Digital has a 12-month low of $17.78 and a 12-month high of $31.65. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $28.52 and its 200 day simple moving average is $24.69.

Gen Digital (NASDAQ:GEN) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The company reported $0.71 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.69 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $1.34 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.31 billion. Gen Digital had a net margin of 20.73% and a return on equity of 55.93%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 6.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.64 earnings per share. Gen Digital has set its FY 2027 guidance at 2.870-2.970 EPS and its Q2 2027 guidance at 0.710-0.730 EPS. On average, analysts expect that Gen Digital will post 2.64 earnings per share for the current year.

Gen Digital Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 9th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 17th were paid a $0.1250 dividend. This represents a $0.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 17th. Gen Digital’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 29.07%.

Insider Transactions at Gen Digital

In other news, insider Travis Witteveen sold 30,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $29.42, for a total transaction of $882,600.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 496,545 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $14,608,353.90. This represents a 5.70% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Ondrej Vlcek sold 200,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $30.00, for a total value of $6,000,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 3,332,904 shares in the company, valued at approximately $99,987,120. This represents a 5.66% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 558,508 shares of company stock valued at $16,356,093 over the last ninety days. 9.70% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in GEN. National Pension Service grew its holdings in shares of Gen Digital by 254.6% during the second quarter. National Pension Service now owns 257,971 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,421,000 after buying an additional 185,219 shares during the last quarter. Capital Analysts LLC increased its position in shares of Gen Digital by 38.7% during the second quarter. Capital Analysts LLC now owns 7,337 shares of the company’s stock worth $183,000 after acquiring an additional 2,049 shares in the last quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Gen Digital in the 2nd quarter worth about $177,000. Baird Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Gen Digital by 6.1% in the 2nd quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 91,109 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,268,000 after acquiring an additional 5,203 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Allworth Financial LP lifted its position in Gen Digital by 13.0% in the 2nd quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 8,932 shares of the company’s stock valued at $222,000 after acquiring an additional 1,025 shares in the last quarter. 81.38% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Gen Digital News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Gen Digital this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Gen Digital is reportedly considering a potentially transformational acquisition of GoDaddy, which would give it access to more than 20 million small-business customers, creators and entrepreneurs. RBC said the deal could significantly broaden Gen’s cybersecurity, privacy and digital-services reach. Gen Digital Potential GoDaddy Deal Could Be Transformational, RBC Says
• Positive Sentiment: Gen expanded its Agent Trust Hub with an AI Data Checker designed to help users understand how AI applications and agents handle their data. The initiative could strengthen Gen’s positioning in privacy and AI safety as adoption grows, although near-term financial benefits are unclear. AI Apps and Agents Are Taking Off. Gen Can Help People Understand What Happens to Their Data.
• Neutral Sentiment: The reported GoDaddy approach is preliminary, so investors still face uncertainty regarding deal terms, financing, regulatory approval, integration costs and whether GoDaddy will accept an offer. GoDaddy shares rose sharply after the report, underscoring the strategic value perceived by the target’s shareholders. GoDaddy shares rocket after Norton owner Gen Digital takeover offer
• Negative Sentiment: Royal Bank of Canada lowered its Gen Digital price target from $30 to $26 and maintained a “sector perform” rating. The downgrade signals more limited upside after accounting for the acquisition uncertainty, despite the revised target remaining above the current trading level.
• Neutral Sentiment: A report showing zero short interest and a zero-day short ratio provides no meaningful evidence of bearish positioning and may reflect a data or reporting anomaly.

Gen Digital Company Profile

Gen Digital Inc (NASDAQ: GEN) is a global cybersecurity and consumer safety company that provides products designed to help individuals and families protect their devices, online identities, personal information and digital privacy. The company serves customers through a portfolio of consumer-focused cybersecurity and privacy brands.

Its products and services include antivirus and device security, identity theft protection, virtual private networks, password management, online privacy tools, scam protection and family safety features.