IMAX Co. (NYSE:IMAX) Sees Significant Growth in Short Interest

IMAX Co. (NYSE:IMAX) saw a significant increase in short interest in the month of January. As of January 15th, there was short interest totalling 4,680,000 shares, an increase of 12.8% from the December 31st total of 4,150,000 shares. Currently, 11.1% of the shares of the company are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 617,100 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 7.6 days.

IMAX Stock Performance

Shares of IMAX stock traded up $0.59 during trading on Monday, hitting $24.14. 658,331 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 632,187. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 54.86, a PEG ratio of 1.30 and a beta of 1.24. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $24.63 and a 200-day simple moving average of $22.41. IMAX has a 52-week low of $13.20 and a 52-week high of $26.84.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on IMAX. StockNews.com upgraded IMAX from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Benchmark reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $30.00 target price on shares of IMAX in a report on Friday, January 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of IMAX from $21.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday. Wedbush reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $32.00 target price on shares of IMAX in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Finally, Rosenblatt Securities reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $28.00 target price on shares of IMAX in a report on Thursday, January 16th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $28.63.

Insider Transactions at IMAX

In other news, insider Kenneth Ian Weissman sold 6,309 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $25.51, for a total value of $160,942.59. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 25,139 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $641,295.89. This represents a 20.06 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Robert D. Lister sold 55,910 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, December 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $25.50, for a total value of $1,425,705.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 138,889 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,541,669.50. This trade represents a 28.70 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 65,176 shares of company stock worth $1,662,110. Company insiders own 24.08% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of IMAX

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. FMR LLC lifted its holdings in IMAX by 108.4% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 3,949,643 shares of the company’s stock worth $81,007,000 after buying an additional 2,054,031 shares in the last quarter. Royce & Associates LP boosted its stake in IMAX by 3.1% during the 3rd quarter. Royce & Associates LP now owns 1,822,616 shares of the company’s stock worth $37,382,000 after purchasing an additional 54,850 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of IMAX by 9.8% in the 3rd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,420,592 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,136,000 after acquiring an additional 127,371 shares during the period. Mizuho Markets Americas LLC lifted its stake in shares of IMAX by 47.5% in the third quarter. Mizuho Markets Americas LLC now owns 387,689 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,952,000 after purchasing an additional 124,811 shares during the period. Finally, Lord Abbett & CO. LLC acquired a new stake in shares of IMAX in the third quarter valued at about $6,322,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.51% of the company’s stock.

About IMAX

IMAX Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, operates as a technology platform for entertainment and events worldwide. The company operates in two segments, Content Solutions and Technology Products and Services. The company offers IMAX DMR, a proprietary technology that digitally remasters films and other content into IMAX formats for distribution to the IMAX network; IMAX Enhanced that provides end-to-end technology across streaming content and entertainment devices at home; and SSIMWAVE, an AI-driven video quality solutions for media and entertainment companies.