NETGEAR (NASDAQ:NTGR) Cut to “Sell” at Wall Street Zen

NETGEAR (NASDAQ:NTGR) was downgraded by equities research analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Saturday.

Separately, Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d)” rating on shares of NETGEAR in a research report on Wednesday, June 24th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, NETGEAR has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $36.50.

NETGEAR Stock Performance

NASDAQ:NTGR traded down $0.89 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $21.09. 362,822 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 337,107. The company has a market cap of $573.23 million, a PE ratio of -22.68 and a beta of 1.20. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $23.00 and its 200 day simple moving average is $23.35. NETGEAR has a 1 year low of $19.00 and a 1 year high of $36.86.

NETGEAR (NASDAQ:NTGR) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The communications equipment provider reported $0.16 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.01 by $0.15. The firm had revenue of $168.56 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $157.80 million. NETGEAR had a negative return on equity of 2.79% and a negative net margin of 3.71%.NETGEAR’s revenue was down 1.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.06 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that NETGEAR will post -0.52 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at NETGEAR

In related news, Director Sarah Butterfass sold 2,704 shares of NETGEAR stock in a transaction on Monday, June 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $26.90, for a total value of $72,737.60. Following the transaction, the director owned 38,953 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,047,835.70. This trade represents a 6.49% 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. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Pramod Badjate sold 3,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $23.88, for a total value of $71,640.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 154,073 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,679,263.24. This trade represents a 1.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Insiders have sold a total of 12,085 shares of company stock valued at $313,933 in the last ninety days. 3.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Continuum Advisory LLC purchased a new stake in NETGEAR during the second quarter worth approximately $25,000. Johnson Financial Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of NETGEAR in the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Comerica Bank lifted its holdings in shares of NETGEAR by 64.8% during the 3rd quarter. Comerica Bank now owns 1,091 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 429 shares in the last quarter. IFP Advisors Inc lifted its holdings in shares of NETGEAR by 161.7% during 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Persistent Asset Partners Ltd purchased a new stake in NETGEAR during the 2nd quarter worth $58,000. 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.