By Mackenzie Tatananni

Netgear stock was rising sharply Wednesday following a report that the U.S. government was weighing a ban on TP-Link, a Chinese router manufacturer and one of Netgear's biggest rivals.

Shares of Netgear, the computer networking company, climbed 17% to $29.97, putting the stock on course for its highest close since Jan. 11, 2022, according to Dow Jones Market Data.

The gains came after The Wall Street Journal reported that the Commerce, Defense, and Justice departments had launched separate investigations into TP-Link, a Chinese router manufacturer that holds a lion's share of the U.S. market.

Sources familiar with the matter told the Journal that authorities could ban the sale of TP-Link routers in the U.S. as early as 2025.

In October, Microsoft disclosed that a Chinese hacking group was using a network of thousands of TP-Link routers to attack Azure cloud service users. The group, dubbed Storm-0940, counted government organizations and defense industrial bases among its targets, Microsoft said.

According to the Journal, the Justice Department also is examining whether TP-Link is in violation of federal anti-monopoly laws. A spokesperson was unable to provide confirmation of the probe to Barron's.

Netgear, a Silicon Valley-based tech company, has been linked to major cyberattacks itself. Earlier this year, investigators disrupted a portion of botnet infrastructure used by a Chinese group called Flax Typhoon that targeted hundreds of U.S.-based routers.

The group exploited vulnerabilities in appliances from companies like Netgear to gain initial access, investigators said.

Write to Mackenzie Tatananni at mackenzie.tatananni@barrons.com

This content was created by Barron's, which is operated by Dow Jones & Co. Barron's is published independently from Dow Jones Newswires and The Wall Street Journal.

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

December 18, 2024 10:48 ET (15:48 GMT)

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