Analysts Set AMC Networks Inc. (NASDAQ:AMCX) Target Price at $6.50

AMC Networks Inc. (NASDAQ:AMCX) has received a consensus recommendation of “Reduce” from the five research firms that are covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation and one has assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year price target among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $6.50.

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on shares of AMC Networks from $9.00 to $8.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. StockNews.com cut shares of AMC Networks from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, February 17th. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on shares of AMC Networks from $9.00 to $8.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 20th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on AMC Networks from $8.00 to $4.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Finally, UBS Group reduced their target price on AMC Networks from $8.00 to $6.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th.

AMC Networks Price Performance

NASDAQ AMCX opened at $6.54 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $288.65 million, a PE ratio of -1.25 and a beta of 1.28. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $6.75 and its 200-day moving average price is $8.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.63, a quick ratio of 2.38 and a current ratio of 2.38. AMC Networks has a 52-week low of $5.41 and a 52-week high of $18.58.

AMC Networks (NASDAQ:AMCX) last announced its earnings results on Friday, February 14th. The company reported $0.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.05 by ($0.41). The company had revenue of $599.30 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $611.26 million. AMC Networks had a negative net margin of 9.36% and a positive return on equity of 18.61%. The firm’s revenue was down 11.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.72 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that AMC Networks will post 2.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider F. Dolan 2009 Revocabl Charles sold 154,345 shares of AMC Networks stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $6.95, for a total transaction of $1,072,697.75. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 20,833 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $144,789.35. The trade was a 88.11 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 25.87% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On AMC Networks

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of AMC Networks by 9.7% in the fourth quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 23,102 shares of the company’s stock worth $229,000 after acquiring an additional 2,043 shares during the period. Ieq Capital LLC acquired a new stake in AMC Networks during the 4th quarter worth about $414,000. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership purchased a new position in shares of AMC Networks during the 4th quarter valued at about $631,000. Contrarius Group Holdings Ltd acquired a new position in shares of AMC Networks in the 4th quarter valued at about $5,359,000. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its stake in shares of AMC Networks by 333.7% in the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,622,785 shares of the company’s stock worth $16,066,000 after buying an additional 1,248,571 shares during the last quarter. 78.51% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About AMC Networks

AMC Networks Inc, an entertainment company, owns and operates a suite of video entertainment products that are delivered to audiences, a platform to distributors, and advertisers in the United States, Europe, and internationally. The company operates through Domestic Operations, and International and Other segments.