NETGEAR (NASDAQ:NTGR) Shares Gap Down – Time to Sell?

Shares of NETGEAR, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTGR) gapped down prior to trading on Thursday . The stock had previously closed at $28.15, but opened at $26.00. NETGEAR shares last traded at $26.26, with a volume of 63,637 shares traded.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently commented on NTGR shares. StockNews.com raised NETGEAR from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Raymond James raised their price objective on shares of NETGEAR from $22.00 to $29.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday.

NETGEAR Trading Up 3.0 %

The company has a market capitalization of $845.55 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 73.48 and a beta of 0.83. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $26.83 and a 200 day moving average price of $21.93.

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

Insider Activity at NETGEAR

In related news, Director Thomas H. Waechter sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 18th. The stock was 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 approximately $1,859,726.70. This represents a 3.17 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Corporate insiders own 7.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Inspire Advisors LLC lifted its position in NETGEAR by 32.5% in the 4th quarter. Inspire Advisors LLC now owns 25,599 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $713,000 after acquiring an additional 6,282 shares in the last quarter. AlphaQuest LLC acquired a new stake in shares of NETGEAR in the 4th quarter valued at about $185,000. Amundi bought a new stake in shares of NETGEAR in the fourth quarter valued at about $653,000. Bay Colony Advisory Group Inc d b a Bay Colony Advisors acquired a new position in shares of NETGEAR during the fourth quarter worth about $255,000. Finally, Arizona State Retirement System bought a new position in shares of NETGEAR during the fourth quarter worth about $220,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.97% of the company’s stock.

NETGEAR Company Profile

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.