StockNews.com Downgrades NETGEAR (NASDAQ:NTGR) to Hold

NETGEAR (NASDAQ:NTGR - Get Free Report) was downgraded by investment analysts at StockNews.com from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note issued on Monday.

Separately, Raymond James increased their price objective on shares of NETGEAR from $22.00 to $29.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th.

NETGEAR Stock Up 0.1 %

NETGEAR stock traded up $0.03 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $24.80. 386,324 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 376,341. NETGEAR has a one year low of $10.48 and a one year high of $31.55. The company has a market cap of $715.95 million, a PE ratio of 62.00 and a beta of 0.83. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $27.42 and a 200 day moving average price of $23.54.

NETGEAR (NASDAQ:NTGR - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The communications equipment provider reported ($0.24) earnings per share for the quarter, meeting analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.24). NETGEAR had a net margin of 1.83% and a negative return on equity of 9.24%. On average, analysts expect that NETGEAR will post -1.84 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Thomas H. Waechter sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $30.42, for a total transaction of $60,840.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 61,135 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,859,726.70. This represents a 3.17 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Charles J. Prober sold 10,929 shares of the firm'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 sale, the chief executive officer now owns 507,763 shares of the company's stock, valued at $13,526,806.32. The trade was a 2.11 % 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.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On NETGEAR

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of NTGR. Creative Planning acquired a new position in shares of NETGEAR in the 3rd quarter valued at $235,000. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of NETGEAR in the third quarter worth about $1,805,000. Versor Investments LP acquired a new position in shares of NETGEAR in the third quarter worth about $235,000. Empowered Funds LLC increased its position in shares of NETGEAR by 23.2% in the third quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 141,976 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock worth $2,848,000 after acquiring an additional 26,756 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Meeder Asset Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of NETGEAR during the third quarter valued at approximately $91,000. 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.