IMAX (NYSE:IMAX) Sets New 1-Year High – Still a Buy?

Shares of IMAX Corporation (NYSE:IMAX) reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $37.21 and last traded at $37.0450, with a volume of 159110 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $35.80.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on IMAX from $31.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, October 24th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of IMAX in a research note on Thursday, November 13th. Rosenblatt Securities restated a “buy” rating and set a $42.00 target price on shares of IMAX in a report on Friday, October 24th. Wedbush upped their price target on shares of IMAX from $35.00 to $39.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, September 22nd. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of IMAX from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, October 11th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $36.67.

IMAX Price Performance

The firm’s 50-day moving average is $32.86 and its 200 day moving average is $29.22. The stock has a market cap of $1.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 51.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.05 and a beta of 0.60.

IMAX (NYSE:IMAX) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 23rd. The company reported $0.47 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.31 by $0.16. IMAX had a net margin of 10.47% and a return on equity of 9.91%. The firm had revenue of $106.65 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $102.88 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.35 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 16.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that IMAX Corporation will post 0.91 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at IMAX

In related news, EVP Giovanni M. Dolci sold 6,188 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $34.25, for a total value of $211,939.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 33,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,130,250. This represents a 15.79% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, VP Robert D. Lister sold 50,143 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $34.67, for a total transaction of $1,738,457.81. Following the sale, the vice president owned 161,421 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,596,466.07. The trade was a 23.70% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last three months, insiders sold 76,331 shares of company stock valued at $2,606,397. 24.08% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. grew its holdings in IMAX by 805.9% in the 1st quarter. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. now owns 469,504 shares of the company’s stock worth $12,371,000 after buying an additional 417,677 shares in the last quarter. Nuveen LLC bought a new position in IMAX in the 1st quarter valued at about $4,438,000. Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its position in shares of IMAX by 8.3% during the 1st quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 1,974,068 shares of the company’s stock worth $52,019,000 after buying an additional 150,552 shares in the last quarter. Mizuho Markets Americas LLC lifted its stake in shares of IMAX by 19.3% in the 1st quarter. Mizuho Markets Americas LLC now owns 710,489 shares of the company’s stock worth $18,721,000 after acquiring an additional 114,800 shares during the period. Finally, Northern Trust Corp boosted its holdings in shares of IMAX by 3.4% in the first quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 354,233 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,334,000 after acquiring an additional 11,588 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.51% of the company’s stock.

About IMAX

IMAX Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, operates as a technology platform for entertainment and events worldwide. The company operates in two segments, Content Solutions and Technology Products and Services. The company offers IMAX DMR, a proprietary technology that digitally remasters films and other content into IMAX formats for distribution to the IMAX network; IMAX Enhanced that provides end-to-end technology across streaming content and entertainment devices at home; and SSIMWAVE, an AI-driven video quality solutions for media and entertainment companies.