Benchmark Reaffirms “Buy” Rating for Electronic Arts (NASDAQ:EA)

Electronic Arts (NASDAQ:EA)‘s stock had its “buy” rating reissued by equities researchers at Benchmark in a research report issued on Thursday, Benzinga reports. They presently have a $153.00 price target on the game software company’s stock. Benchmark’s price objective indicates a potential upside of 20.69% from the company’s previous close.

Several other research firms have also commented on EA. Wedbush reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $162.00 price target on shares of Electronic Arts in a research report on Wednesday, January 31st. UBS Group dropped their target price on Electronic Arts from $146.00 to $143.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, March 27th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on Electronic Arts from $152.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 18th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets began coverage on shares of Electronic Arts in a research report on Tuesday, January 9th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $160.00 price objective on the stock. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $147.00.

Electronic Arts Price Performance

Shares of EA traded up $0.46 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $126.77. 227,213 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,028,125. The stock has a market cap of $33.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.83, a PEG ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 0.76. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $135.28 and a 200-day moving average of $134.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a quick ratio of 1.33 and a current ratio of 1.33. Electronic Arts has a 52 week low of $117.47 and a 52 week 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 net margin of 14.09% and a return on equity of 20.58%. The firm had revenue of $2.37 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.40 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.29 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts forecast that Electronic Arts will post 5.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Electronic Arts

In other Electronic Arts news, CEO Andrew Wilson sold 2,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $138.88, for a total transaction of $347,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 30,930 shares in the company, valued at $4,295,558.40. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, COO Laura Miele sold 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $137.43, for a total transaction of $274,860.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 38,548 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,297,651.64. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Andrew Wilson sold 2,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $138.88, for a total transaction of $347,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 30,930 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,295,558.40. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 37,144 shares of company stock valued at $5,143,560 over the last ninety days. 0.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Electronic Arts

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Diversified Trust Co grew its stake in shares of Electronic Arts by 90.0% during the first quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 15,150 shares of the game software company’s stock worth $2,010,000 after acquiring an additional 7,176 shares during the last quarter. Mirador Capital Partners LP lifted its stake in shares of Electronic Arts by 15.4% during the first quarter. Mirador Capital Partners LP now owns 3,766 shares of the game software company’s stock worth $500,000 after buying an additional 502 shares during the period. KRS Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Electronic Arts by 17.1% during the first quarter. KRS Capital Management LLC now owns 1,880 shares of the game software company’s stock valued at $249,000 after buying an additional 275 shares during the last quarter. Janiczek Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of Electronic Arts by 15.2% in the 1st quarter. Janiczek Wealth Management LLC now owns 895 shares of the game software company’s stock valued at $119,000 after acquiring an additional 118 shares during the period. Finally, Eagle Rock Investment Company LLC raised its stake in Electronic Arts by 1.9% in the 1st quarter. Eagle Rock Investment Company LLC now owns 28,200 shares of the game software company’s stock worth $3,741,000 after acquiring an additional 530 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.23% of the company’s stock.

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.