Electronic Arts (NASDAQ:EA) Rating Lowered to “Buy” at StockNews.com

Electronic Arts (NASDAQ:EA) was downgraded by equities researchers at StockNews.com from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Wednesday.

A number of other research firms also recently issued reports on EA. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on shares of Electronic Arts from $155.00 to $150.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. BNP Paribas lowered Electronic Arts from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $125.00 price objective for the company. in a report on Monday, January 27th. Bank of America boosted their target price on Electronic Arts from $130.00 to $132.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Benchmark cut their price target on Electronic Arts from $163.00 to $140.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Argus boosted their price target on Electronic Arts from $161.00 to $183.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $155.24.

Electronic Arts Stock Up 7.6 %

Shares of Electronic Arts stock traded up $9.22 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $130.47. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 8,249,596 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,427,673. The firm has a market capitalization of $34.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.54, a PEG ratio of 2.50 and a beta of 0.79. Electronic Arts has a 1-year low of $115.21 and a 1-year high of $168.50. The company has a quick ratio of 1.43, a current ratio of 1.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $145.31 and a 200-day simple moving average of $147.54.

Electronic Arts (NASDAQ:EA) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The game software company reported $2.34 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.41 by ($1.07). Electronic Arts had a net margin of 14.12% and a return on equity of 18.56%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Electronic Arts will post 5.02 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Electronic Arts

In related news, CEO Andrew Wilson sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $166.47, for a total value of $832,350.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 52,615 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,758,819.05. This trade represents a 8.68 % 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 hyperlink. Also, insider Vijayanthimala Singh sold 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $164.45, for a total transaction of $164,450.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 30,216 shares in the company, valued at $4,969,021.20. This trade represents a 3.20 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 23,500 shares of company stock worth $3,562,510. Insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Electronic Arts

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Electronic Arts by 0.4% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 6,671,657 shares of the game software company’s stock worth $954,358,000 after purchasing an additional 26,505 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its holdings in shares of Electronic Arts by 1.3% in the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,789,283 shares of the game software company’s stock worth $261,772,000 after buying an additional 23,289 shares in the last quarter. Swedbank AB lifted its position in shares of Electronic Arts by 6.3% during the 4th quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 1,607,817 shares of the game software company’s stock worth $235,224,000 after buying an additional 95,190 shares during the period. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Electronic Arts by 353.4% in the 4th quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 1,269,258 shares of the game software company’s stock valued at $185,692,000 after buying an additional 989,319 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. grew its position in Electronic Arts by 51.5% in the fourth quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 1,099,746 shares of the game software company’s stock valued at $160,893,000 after acquiring an additional 373,730 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 90.23% of the company’s stock.

Electronic Arts Company Profile

Electronic Arts Inc develops, markets, publishes, and distributes games, content, and services for game consoles, PCs, mobile phones, and tablets worldwide. It develops and publishes games and services across various genres, such as sports, racing, first-person shooter, action, role-playing, and simulation primarily under the Battlefield, The Sims, Apex Legends, Need for Speed, and license games from others, including FIFA, Madden NFL, UFC, and Star Wars brands.