Sony Corporation (SONY) – What Are Researchers Thinking About This Stock?

Sony Corporation (NYSE:SONY) has earned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the seventeen research firms that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, four have issued a hold recommendation and twelve have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month price objective among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $373.00.

Several analysts have issued reports on SONY shares. UBS Group cut their price objective on Sony from $560.00 to $525.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, August 6th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Sony from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, August 9th. Zacks Research cut shares of Sony from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 30th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of Sony in a report on Monday, August 17th. Finally, Benchmark reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Sony in a research report on Monday, August 3rd.

Sony Price Performance

SONY opened at $24.80 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11, a current ratio of 1.25 and a quick ratio of 0.97. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $23.94 and a 200-day simple moving average of $22.23. Sony has a fifty-two week low of $19.32 and a fifty-two week high of $30.34.

Sony (NYSE:SONY) last issued its earnings results on Saturday, August 1st. The company reported $0.36 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.28 by $0.08. Sony had a positive return on equity of 13.06% and a negative net margin of 2.00%. The business had revenue of $17.45 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $17.17 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $42.84 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 8.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts predict that Sony will post 1.45 earnings per share for the current year.

Key Stories Impacting Sony

Here are the key news stories impacting Sony this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Analyst commentary argues that Sony’s hardware cycle may be masking a stronger earnings mix, suggesting improving contributions from higher-margin entertainment, services and intellectual property businesses. Sony: The Hardware Cycle Is Hiding A Better Earnings Mix
• Positive Sentiment: Sony continues to expand its content pipeline, acquiring rights to the “D’Orc” comic-book series, partnering with Tom Holland on the thriller “Penthouse,” and buying rights to two A24 titles in key markets. These deals could strengthen Sony Pictures’ future distribution slate, although financial impact is uncertain. Sony Pictures Lands Rights To D’Orc
• Positive Sentiment: Sony patented technology designed to predict a game’s next frame before rendering is complete, potentially improving performance and reinforcing its long-term gaming technology position. Sony patents AI game-rendering technology
• Neutral Sentiment: Sony is promoting premium audio products, including a $5,899 gold-plated Walkman and discounted noise-canceling headphones and earbuds. The coverage supports brand visibility, but the products are unlikely to materially affect near-term earnings. Sony flagship Walkman
• Neutral Sentiment: Personnel changes at Sony Pictures Television and a possible FX5 camera launch indicate continued activity across Sony’s media and imaging businesses, with limited immediate financial implications. Sony FX5 launch report
• Negative Sentiment: Reports that the PlayStation 6 could cost more than $1,000 because of surging memory costs raise concerns about affordability, consumer demand and hardware profitability. Sony has not necessarily confirmed the reported pricing. PlayStation 6 pricing report
• Negative Sentiment: Sony and music-industry partners are pursuing information about AI-generated music and training data in ongoing legal disputes. Potential litigation costs and copyright uncertainty remain risks, though the cases could also protect Sony’s music rights over time. Sony and Universal seek testimony in Suno case

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Robert Adrian Stringer sold 545,547 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $22.49, for a total value of $12,269,352.03. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 100,547 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,261,302.03. This represents a 84.44% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, insider Tsuyoshi Kodera sold 17,100 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $22.72, for a total transaction of $388,512.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 47,508 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,079,381.76. This represents a 26.47% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Insiders have sold a total of 598,227 shares of company stock worth $13,488,286 in the last quarter. Insiders own 7.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Sony

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in SONY. Bank of America Corp DE raised its stake in shares of Sony by 9.1% during the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 16,992,579 shares of the company’s stock worth $351,746,000 after purchasing an additional 1,413,785 shares in the last quarter. Clark Capital Management Group Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Sony in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $47,989,000. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership bought a new stake in shares of Sony in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $39,998,000. WCM Investment Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Sony by 337.6% in the 1st quarter. WCM Investment Management LLC now owns 1,949,592 shares of the company’s stock valued at $38,836,000 after buying an additional 1,504,035 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in Sony by 0.9% in the third quarter. Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,163,910 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,387,000 after buying an additional 10,587 shares during the last quarter. 14.05% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Sony Company Profile

Sony Group Corporation is a Japan-based global entertainment and technology company whose businesses span games, music, motion pictures, electronics, imaging and financial services. The company develops and markets consumer and professional products, digital content, software and services through a portfolio of internationally recognized brands.

Sony’s Game & Network Services business operates the PlayStation platform, including hardware, software, online services and related content.