Up 20% in the Last Month, is NortonLifeLock Still a Buy?

NASDAQ: NLOK | NortonLifeLock Inc. News, Ratings, and Charts

NLOK – NortonLifeLock (NLOK) has been an outperformer over the past month, when many tech stocks have had sharp pullbacks. Patrick Ryan gives his take on whether NLKOK remains a buy following a 20% gain.

NortonLifeLock (NLOK) is a cybersecurity provider based in Tempe. Previously known as Symantec Corporation, NLOK has a solid reputation in the digital security space. Chances are you have used one of NLOK’s digital security solutions, ranging from Norton Anti-Virus to Norton System Works, Norton Internet Security, etc.

Take a close look at NLOK’s value proposition and you will find the company offers more digital security products than most investors assume. From virus protection to software solutions for firewalls, virtual private networks, and beyond, NLOK does a little bit of everything in the digital security space.

NLOK has popped 20% in the past month. The question is whether those who have been on the sidelines missed out on a golden opportunity or if NLOK will move even higher. We answer this question below.

NLOK Points of Note

NLOK traded around $22 for in the final couple weeks of April and the start of May, only to jump up to the mid-$20s in early to mid-May. Check out NLOK’s six-month chart and you will find the stock traded between $18 and the low $20s all the way up until its recent ascent. However, it must be noted NLOK was trading around $24 as of last August, meaning it has only increased by a couple of dollars in the past nine months.

NLOK’s spring spike is the result of the company’s latest quarterly earnings report. NLOK surpassed Wall Street expectations, resulting in a single-day jump of about 10%. NLOK reported non-GAAP diluted fourth-quarter earnings of 40 cents per shares. Wall Street analysts expected 38 cents per share. NLOK’s fourth-quarter revenue came in at $672 million, beating out the $660 million anticipated by analysts.

All in all, NLOK onboarded two million new customers in the quarter, spurring record profit and revenue. In aggregate, NLOK has a whopping 23 million customers. NLOK’s board also approved a $1.5 billion share repurchase program to boot. This figure adds to the nearly $300 million repurchases that are already in progress. The icing on the cake was the 17% year over year hike in reported billings. NLOK executives also painted a rosy picture for the future, providing first-quarter guidance estimates of $680 million to $690 million, which represents an 11% increase on a year over year basis.

NLOK’s forward P/E ratio is 16.07, meaning its current price of $26.49 should not alarm investors. NLOK’s forward P/E ratio is even more intriguing considering the stock is trading about 30 cents below its 52-week high. NLOK is also attractive as it has a low beta of 0.70, meaning it will not prove excessively volatile when the market fluctuates.

NLOK According to the Analysts

NLOK is held in high regard by the top analysts. These investing gurus have established an average target price of $27.70 for NLOK. If the stock rises to this level, it will have increased by slightly more than 6%. The highest analyst target price for NLOK is $31. The lowest target price for NLOK is $25.

The analysts’ predictions for the stock are trending in the right direction, rising $2.31 across the past 120 days. Of the 12 analysts who have issued recommendations on NLOK, three view it as a Strong Buy, six view it as a Buy, and three-views it as a Hold. No analysts consider the stock a Sell or Strong Sell.

NLOK POWR Ratings

NLOK is a POWR Ratings success with a B overall grade, meaning the stock qualifies as a Buy. NLOK has an A Quality grade and Bs in the Sentiment, Value, and Growth POWR Ratings components. You can learn more about NLOK’s additional POWR Ratings components by clicking here.

Out of the 24 publicly traded companies in the Software – Security space, NLOK is ranked first. However, the Software – Security industry as a whole has a D POWR Rating grade. You can learn more about the stocks traded in this space by clicking here.

Is NLOK Still a Buy?

Indeed, NLOK is a Buy. The stock’s POWR Ratings components are solid. NLOK is all the more attractive considering it is the top-ranked stock of 24 in its Software – Security segment. Investors should not hesitate to pick up this digital security superstar.


NLOK shares were trading at $26.33 per share on Wednesday afternoon, down $0.16 (-0.60%). Year-to-date, NLOK has gained 27.47%, versus a 9.75% rise in the benchmark S&P 500 index during the same period.


About the Author: Patrick Ryan


Patrick Ryan has more than a dozen years of investing experience with a focus on information technology, consumer and entertainment sectors. In addition to working for StockNews, Patrick has also written for Wealth Authority and Fallon Wealth Management. More...


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