NETGEAR (NASDAQ:NTGR) Downgraded by StockNews.com to Hold

NETGEAR (NASDAQ:NTGR) was downgraded by equities research analysts at StockNews.com from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report issued on Friday.

Separately, Raymond James boosted their price target on NETGEAR from $22.00 to $29.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th.

NETGEAR Price Performance

Shares of NTGR stock opened at $24.19 on Friday. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $26.49 and its 200 day simple moving average is $24.09. NETGEAR has a one year low of $10.48 and a one year high of $31.55. The stock has a market capitalization of $698.34 million, a PE ratio of 60.48 and a beta of 0.72.

NETGEAR (NASDAQ:NTGR) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The communications equipment provider reported ($0.24) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of ($0.24). NETGEAR had a negative return on equity of 9.24% and a net margin of 1.83%. As a group, research analysts expect that NETGEAR will post -1.84 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at NETGEAR

In other news, CEO Charles J. Prober sold 10,929 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $26.64, for a total transaction of $291,148.56. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 507,763 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,526,806.32. This represents a 2.11 % 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, CFO Murray Bryan sold 3,848 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $23.92, for a total value of $92,044.16. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 193,032 shares in the company, valued at $4,617,325.44. The trade was a 1.95 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 7.00% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On NETGEAR

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Quarry LP raised its position in shares of NETGEAR by 66.5% during the third quarter. Quarry LP now owns 1,856 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 741 shares during the period. R Squared Ltd acquired a new position in shares of NETGEAR during the fourth quarter worth approximately $72,000. New York State Teachers Retirement System acquired a new position in shares of NETGEAR during the fourth quarter worth approximately $72,000. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. raised its position in shares of NETGEAR by 19.6% during the fourth quarter. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 2,917 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $81,000 after purchasing an additional 479 shares during the period. Finally, Picton Mahoney Asset Management acquired a new position in shares of NETGEAR during the fourth quarter worth approximately $92,000. 82.97% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About NETGEAR

NETGEAR, Inc provides connectivity solutions the Americas; Europe, the Middle East, Africa; and the Asia Pacific. The company operates in two segments, Connected Home, and NETGEAR for Business. The Connected Home segment offers Wi-Fi routers and home Wi-Fi mesh systems, Wi-Fi hotspots, digital displays, broadband modems, Wi-Fi gateways, Wi-Fi range extenders, powerline adapters, and Wi-Fi network adapters; and provides value-added service offerings, including security and privacy, technical support, and parental controls.