Gen Digital (NASDAQ:GEN) Rating Increased to Buy at Wall Street Zen

09 Feb 2026, 02:54 by Jessica Moore · The Cerbat Gem

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Gen Digital (NASDAQ:GEN – Free Report) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research report released on Sunday morning.

Several other equities analysts have also recently weighed in on GEN. Zacks Research cut Gen Digital from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 20th. Barclays lowered their target price on Gen Digital from $33.00 to $32.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Gen Digital in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Evercore increased their price objective on shares of Gen Digital from $35.00 to $37.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, November 7th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada dropped their price objective on shares of Gen Digital from $33.00 to $29.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 7th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $35.29.

Get Our Latest Analysis on GEN

Gen Digital Stock Performance

GEN opened at $24.25 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.50, a quick ratio of 0.51 and a current ratio of 0.47. The stock has a market capitalization of $14.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.00, a PEG ratio of 0.81 and a beta of 1.09. The company has a fifty day moving average of $26.25 and a 200 day moving average of $27.63. Gen Digital has a fifty-two week low of $22.14 and a fifty-two week high of $32.22.

Gen Digital (NASDAQ:GEN – Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 5th. The company reported $0.64 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.63 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $1.24 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.23 billion. Gen Digital had a net margin of 12.76% and a return on equity of 56.76%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 25.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.56 EPS. Gen Digital has set its Q4 2026 guidance at 0.640-0.660 EPS and its FY 2026 guidance at 2.540-2.560 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Gen Digital will post 2.05 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Gen Digital Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 11th. Investors of record on Monday, February 16th will be paid a $0.125 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 13th. This represents a $0.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.1%. Gen Digital’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 51.55%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Gen Digital

In other news, Director Ondrej Vlcek sold 113,674 shares of Gen Digital stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $27.12, for a total value of $3,082,838.88. Following the sale, the director owned 3,932,980 shares in the company, valued at $106,662,417.60. This trade represents a 2.81% 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, Director John C. Chrystal bought 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 13th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $27.14 per share, with a total value of $135,700.00. Following the purchase, the director directly owned 28,419 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $771,291.66. This represents a 21.35% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. 9.30% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Gen Digital

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. International Assets Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Gen Digital in the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. True Wealth Design LLC raised its holdings in Gen Digital by 92.0% in the 3rd quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 1,104 shares of the company’s stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 529 shares during the last quarter. Spire Wealth Management lifted its stake in Gen Digital by 1,183.3% in the 3rd quarter. Spire Wealth Management now owns 1,078 shares of the company’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 994 shares in the last quarter. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Gen Digital during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $32,000. Finally, Clearstead Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Gen Digital by 48.6% in the third quarter. Clearstead Advisors LLC now owns 1,223 shares of the company’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 400 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.38% of the company’s stock.

Key Stories Impacting Gen Digital

Here are the key news stories impacting Gen Digital this week:

Positive Sentiment: Q3 beat and strong growth — Revenue jumped 25.8% Y/Y and EPS beat consensus, signaling accelerating top-line momentum that supports the stock rally. Gen Digital Q3 Earnings Surpass Expectations, Revenues Rise Y/Y
Positive Sentiment: Raised FY‑2026 guidance — Company increased full‑year EPS and Q4 guidance above Street estimates, implying stronger forward earnings visibility. Gen Digital Inc. (GEN) Q3 2026 Earnings Call Transcript
Positive Sentiment: Drivers called out — Management cited strong bookings, customer growth, AI product features and the MoneyLion business as contributors to revenue and guidance upgrades. Gen Digital raises 2026 revenue and EPS guidance as AI and MoneyLion drive growth
Positive Sentiment: Market reaction and coverage — Multiple outlets reported the beat and guidance raise, which likely fueled the jump in share price and higher trading volume. Gen Digital shares rise after beating Q3 expectations
Neutral Sentiment: Supplementary detail & presentation — Earnings call transcript and slide deck are available for investors who want line-item detail on bookings, churn and product metrics. Gen Digital Q3 Slide Deck
Neutral Sentiment: Dividend declared — Board announced a $0.125 quarterly dividend (ex‑dividend Feb 13, pay Mar 11), adding modest income appeal. (Company release Feb 5).
Negative Sentiment: Minor adverse note on related security — An Equity Right (GENVR) price target was sharply lowered by one outlet, which could concern holders of that instrument but is unlikely to affect GEN’s core share performance materially. Gen Digital Inc. – Equity Right (GENVR) price target decreased

About Gen Digital

(Get Free Report)

Gen Digital (NASDAQ: GEN) is a global cybersecurity company specializing in consumer- and small-business-focused security, privacy, and identity protection solutions. The company offers a suite of products designed to safeguard devices, networks, and personal information against malware, ransomware, phishing attacks and other digital threats. With a focus on user-friendly interfaces and cross-platform compatibility, Gen Digital develops antivirus software, VPN services, parental controls, password management tools, and comprehensive identity-theft monitoring services.

Gen Digital traces its origins to the consumer software division of Symantec Corporation, which was spun off in late 2019 under the NortonLifeLock name.