Wedbush Reiterates “Outperform” Rating for Electronic Arts (NASDAQ:EA)

Electronic Arts (NASDAQ:EA)‘s stock had its “outperform” rating reiterated by equities research analysts at Wedbush in a research note issued on Thursday, Benzinga reports. They currently have a $162.00 price target on the game software company’s stock. Wedbush’s price target indicates a potential upside of 25.04% from the company’s previous close.

Several other research firms have also recently issued reports on EA. Oppenheimer reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $150.00 price target on shares of Electronic Arts in a research note on Tuesday, April 23rd. UBS Group lowered their price objective on shares of Electronic Arts from $146.00 to $143.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, March 27th. Benchmark reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $153.00 target price on shares of Electronic Arts in a research report on Thursday, April 18th. Roth Mkm decreased their target price on Electronic Arts from $140.00 to $135.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on shares of Electronic Arts from $152.00 to $155.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 18th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $146.72.

Electronic Arts Stock Performance

EA stock traded up $1.06 during trading on Thursday, hitting $129.56. The company had a trading volume of 1,650,180 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,685,682. The firm has a market cap of $34.64 billion, a PE ratio of 32.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 0.78. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $131.99 and a 200-day moving average price of $134.43. The company has a quick ratio of 1.33, a current ratio of 1.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25. Electronic Arts has a 1-year low of $117.47 and a 1-year high of $144.53.

Electronic Arts (NASDAQ:EA) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, January 30th. The game software company reported $1.07 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.45 by ($1.38). Electronic Arts had a return on equity of 20.58% and a net margin of 14.09%. The firm had revenue of $2.37 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.40 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.29 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts expect that Electronic Arts will post 5.34 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Electronic Arts

In other Electronic Arts news, insider Vijayanthimala Singh sold 800 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $139.08, for a total transaction of $111,264.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 27,883 shares in the company, valued at $3,877,967.64. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, Director Luis A. Ubinas sold 4,872 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $136.84, for a total transaction of $666,684.48. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Vijayanthimala Singh sold 800 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $139.08, for a total transaction of $111,264.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 27,883 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,877,967.64. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 37,144 shares of company stock worth $5,087,143 over the last quarter. 0.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Electronic Arts

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Bray Capital Advisors lifted its position in Electronic Arts by 100.0% in the third quarter. Bray Capital Advisors now owns 220 shares of the game software company’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 110 shares during the period. North Star Investment Management Corp. lifted its holdings in Electronic Arts by 333.3% in the 1st quarter. North Star Investment Management Corp. now owns 195 shares of the game software company’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 150 shares during the last quarter. Cape Investment Advisory Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Electronic Arts by 102.0% during the 4th quarter. Cape Investment Advisory Inc. now owns 200 shares of the game software company’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 101 shares in the last quarter. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Electronic Arts in the 1st quarter valued at $27,000. Finally, Leith Wheeler Investment Counsel Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Electronic Arts by 269.1% in the 4th quarter. Leith Wheeler Investment Counsel Ltd. now owns 212,585 shares of the game software company’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 154,989 shares during the period. 90.23% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Electronic Arts

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.