NETGEAR (NASDAQ:NTGR) Upgraded at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of NETGEAR (NASDAQ:NTGR) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research note published on Thursday.

Separately, Raymond James raised their target price on shares of 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 opened at $23.90 on Thursday. NETGEAR has a one year low of $10.48 and a one year high of $31.55. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $26.73 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $23.93. The firm has a market capitalization of $689.97 million, a PE ratio of 59.75 and a beta of 0.72.

NETGEAR (NASDAQ:NTGR) last announced its earnings results 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%. Analysts expect that NETGEAR will post -1.84 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at NETGEAR

In related news, Director Thomas H. Waechter sold 2,000 shares of the firm’s 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 owns 61,135 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,859,726.70. This trade represents a 3.17 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing 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 shares were sold at an average price of $26.64, for a total transaction of $291,148.56. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 507,763 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,526,806.32. This trade represents a 2.11 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 7.00% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On NETGEAR

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in NTGR. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in NETGEAR in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $1,805,000. Versor Investments LP bought a new stake in NETGEAR in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $235,000. Empowered Funds LLC grew its position in NETGEAR by 23.2% in the 3rd quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 141,976 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $2,848,000 after purchasing an additional 26,756 shares during the period. Meeder Asset Management Inc. bought a new stake in NETGEAR in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $91,000. Finally, Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. grew its position in NETGEAR by 124.9% in the 3rd quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 145,413 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $2,917,000 after purchasing an additional 80,746 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 82.97% of the company’s stock.

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.