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

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

Separately, Raymond James increased their price objective on NETGEAR from $22.00 to $29.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th.

NETGEAR Trading Down 2.4 %

NTGR opened at $24.19 on Friday. NETGEAR has a 1-year low of $10.48 and a 1-year high of $31.55. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $26.49 and its 200 day simple moving average is $24.09. The stock has a market cap of $698.34 million, a PE ratio of 60.48 and a beta of 0.72.

NETGEAR (NASDAQ:NTGR) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The communications equipment provider reported ($0.24) earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of ($0.24). NETGEAR had a negative return on equity of 9.24% and a net margin of 1.83%. Equities analysts forecast that NETGEAR will post -1.84 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at NETGEAR

In other NETGEAR news, CEO Charles J. Prober sold 10,929 shares of NETGEAR stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $26.64, for a total value of $291,148.56. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 507,763 shares in the company, valued at $13,526,806.32. The trade was a 2.11 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Murray Bryan sold 3,848 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $23.92, for a total value of $92,044.16. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 193,032 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,617,325.44. This trade represents a 1.95 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 7.00% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of NETGEAR

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Rhumbline Advisers grew its holdings in shares of NETGEAR by 32.0% during the fourth quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 69,841 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $1,946,000 after purchasing an additional 16,920 shares during the last quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. grew its holdings in shares of NETGEAR by 285.2% during the fourth quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 79,693 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $2,221,000 after purchasing an additional 59,005 shares during the last quarter. Inspire Investing LLC bought a new stake in NETGEAR in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $852,000. Bailard Inc. bought a new stake in NETGEAR in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $362,000. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC bought a new stake in NETGEAR in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,385,000. 82.97% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.