NETGEAR, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTGR) Sees Significant Increase in Short Interest

NETGEAR, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTGR) was the recipient of a large growth in short interest in January. As of January 31st, there was short interest totalling 940,400 shares, a growth of 18.1% from the January 15th total of 796,300 shares. Currently, 3.6% of the company’s shares are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 384,100 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.4 days.

NETGEAR Trading Down 3.3 %

Shares of NASDAQ:NTGR traded down $0.96 during trading on Monday, reaching $28.46. 319,499 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 352,504. The firm has a market capitalization of $818.79 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 71.15 and a beta of 0.83. NETGEAR has a 52-week low of $10.48 and a 52-week high of $31.55. The business’s fifty day moving average is $27.39 and its 200-day moving average is $22.61.

NETGEAR (NASDAQ:NTGR) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The communications equipment provider reported ($0.24) EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.24). NETGEAR had a negative return on equity of 9.24% and a net margin of 1.83%. On average, sell-side analysts predict that NETGEAR will post -1.84 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on NTGR. Raymond James lifted their price target on NETGEAR from $22.00 to $29.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. StockNews.com raised NETGEAR from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Thomas H. Waechter sold 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 $1,859,726.70. This trade represents a 3.17 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 7.00% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On NETGEAR

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in NTGR. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership raised its holdings in NETGEAR by 126.4% in the fourth quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 675,209 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $18,818,000 after purchasing an additional 376,974 shares in the last quarter. Portolan Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of NETGEAR during the fourth quarter valued at $5,357,000. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its position in shares of NETGEAR by 31.6% during the fourth quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 770,464 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $21,473,000 after buying an additional 184,863 shares during the last quarter. Tenzing Global Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of NETGEAR during the third quarter valued at $3,510,000. Finally, Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of NETGEAR during the fourth quarter valued at $4,449,000. 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.