UBS Group Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Electronic Arts (NASDAQ:EA) Stock

Electronic Arts (NASDAQ:EA) had its price target upped by analysts at UBS Group from $138.00 to $152.00 in a research note issued to investors on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a “neutral” rating on the game software company’s stock. UBS Group’s price target would indicate a potential upside of 12.31% from the company’s previous close.

Other analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. BNP Paribas cut Electronic Arts from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $125.00 target price for the company. in a report on Monday, January 27th. Wedbush reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $173.00 price objective on shares of Electronic Arts in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Oppenheimer lowered their price target on Electronic Arts from $170.00 to $165.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. DA Davidson assumed coverage on Electronic Arts in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $140.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Raymond James cut shares of Electronic Arts from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $155.30.

Electronic Arts Stock Down 6.6 %

Electronic Arts stock opened at $135.34 on Thursday. Electronic Arts has a 1-year low of $115.21 and a 1-year high of $168.50. The stock has a market capitalization of $35.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.44, a PEG ratio of 3.58 and a beta of 0.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a current ratio of 1.38 and a quick ratio of 1.38. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $134.10 and a 200-day moving average price of $144.56.

Electronic Arts (NASDAQ:EA) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The game software company reported $2.34 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.41 by ($1.07). Electronic Arts had a net margin of 14.28% and a return on equity of 17.80%. Equities research analysts forecast that Electronic Arts will post 4.71 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Vijayanthimala Singh sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $145.00, for a total value of $145,000.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 26,216 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,801,320. This trade represents a 3.67 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Andrew Wilson sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $142.68, for a total transaction of $713,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 42,615 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,080,308.20. This represents a 10.50 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 22,000 shares of company stock worth $3,015,990. 0.22% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Electronic Arts

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Swedbank AB lifted its holdings in shares of Electronic Arts by 6.3% during the fourth quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 1,607,817 shares of the game software company’s stock valued at $235,224,000 after purchasing an additional 95,190 shares in the last quarter. Atomi Financial Group Inc. bought a new stake in Electronic Arts during the fourth quarter valued at about $217,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in Electronic Arts by 2.5% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,456,520 shares of the game software company’s stock worth $213,089,000 after purchasing an additional 36,153 shares during the period. Fisher Funds Management LTD purchased a new position in Electronic Arts during the fourth quarter valued at $3,730,000. Finally, Deroy & Devereaux Private Investment Counsel Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Electronic Arts in the fourth quarter worth about $13,845,000. 90.23% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other 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.