Electronic Arts (NASDAQ:EA) Receives “Buy” Rating from Benchmark

Electronic Arts (NASDAQ:EA)‘s stock had its “buy” rating restated by equities research analysts at Benchmark in a report released on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. They currently have a $163.00 price objective on the game software company’s stock. Benchmark’s target price indicates a potential upside of 10.06% from the company’s previous close.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports on EA. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and set a $150.00 price target on shares of Electronic Arts in a research note on Wednesday, September 18th. TD Cowen increased their price target on shares of Electronic Arts from $163.00 to $183.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Oppenheimer upped their price target on shares of Electronic Arts from $150.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 16th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on Electronic Arts from $139.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, UBS Group increased their target price on Electronic Arts from $143.00 to $155.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Electronic Arts presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $163.71.

Electronic Arts Price Performance

Electronic Arts stock traded up $2.48 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $148.10. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 353,175 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,041,667. The firm has a market capitalization of $39.36 billion, a PE ratio of 31.36, a P/E/G ratio of 1.97 and a beta of 0.79. Electronic Arts has a fifty-two week low of $121.63 and a fifty-two week high of $153.51. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $144.83 and its 200 day simple moving average is $139.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a quick ratio of 1.45 and a current ratio of 1.45.

Electronic Arts (NASDAQ:EA) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 30th. The game software company reported $0.09 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.03 by $0.06. Electronic Arts had a net margin of 15.77% and a return on equity of 16.34%. The firm had revenue of $1.26 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.21 billion. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Electronic Arts will post 5.93 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Electronic Arts news, insider Vijayanthimala Singh sold 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $151.70, for a total transaction of $151,700.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 30,190 shares in the company, valued at $4,579,823. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In related news, EVP Jacob J. Schatz sold 1,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $149.32, for a total value of $223,980.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 27,860 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,160,055.20. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Vijayanthimala Singh sold 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $151.70, for a total value of $151,700.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 30,190 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,579,823. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 24,770 shares of company stock valued at $3,652,410 in the last quarter. Insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of EA. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Electronic Arts by 14.7% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 29,159,718 shares of the game software company’s stock worth $3,868,620,000 after acquiring an additional 3,727,251 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its stake in shares of Electronic Arts by 496.9% in the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 2,511,250 shares of the game software company’s stock valued at $333,169,000 after acquiring an additional 2,090,504 shares in the last quarter. Swedbank AB bought a new position in shares of Electronic Arts in the first quarter worth about $201,935,000. Jericho Capital Asset Management L.P. bought a new position in shares of Electronic Arts during the 1st quarter worth about $189,055,000. Finally, Manning & Napier Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Electronic Arts in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $188,159,000. 90.23% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.