Zacks Research Downgrades Electronic Arts (NASDAQ:EA) to Hold

Electronic Arts (NASDAQ:EA) was downgraded by Zacks Research from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Wednesday,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other brokerages also recently issued reports on EA. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of Electronic Arts from $148.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, October 20th. HSBC lowered shares of Electronic Arts from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $191.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Monday, September 29th. Citigroup raised their price target on shares of Electronic Arts from $206.00 to $207.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 30th. DZ Bank lowered shares of Electronic Arts from a “strong-buy” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Monday, September 29th. Finally, TD Cowen downgraded Electronic Arts from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 1st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have issued a Buy rating, twenty-six have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $181.64.

Electronic Arts Trading Down 0.2%

NASDAQ:EA opened at $201.12 on Wednesday. Electronic Arts has a 1 year low of $115.21 and a 1 year high of $203.75. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $194.84 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $170.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a current ratio of 0.84 and a quick ratio of 0.84. The company has a market cap of $50.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 58.81, a P/E/G ratio of 3.04 and a beta of 0.74.

Electronic Arts (NASDAQ:EA) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 28th. The game software company reported $0.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.72 by ($0.07). The company had revenue of $1.84 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.88 billion. Electronic Arts had a net margin of 12.14% and a return on equity of 15.30%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 12.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.11 earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that Electronic Arts will post 4.71 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CFO Stuart Canfield sold 6,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $203.40, for a total transaction of $1,322,100.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 5,140 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,045,476. This trade represents a 55.84% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Andrew Wilson sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $172.79, for a total value of $863,950.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 47,393 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,189,036.47. The trade was a 9.54% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 40,900 shares of company stock valued at $7,873,176 over the last quarter. Insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Ameriflex Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Electronic Arts by 100.0% in the 3rd quarter. Ameriflex Group Inc. now owns 138 shares of the game software company’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 69 shares in the last quarter. Oakworth Capital Inc. bought a new stake in Electronic Arts in the third quarter worth $30,000. Salomon & Ludwin LLC boosted its position in Electronic Arts by 70.1% during the second quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC now owns 165 shares of the game software company’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 68 shares during the period. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. boosted its position in Electronic Arts by 131.9% during the third quarter. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. now owns 167 shares of the game software company’s stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 95 shares during the period. Finally, MTM Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Electronic Arts during the second quarter valued at about $30,000. 90.23% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Electronic Arts Company Profile

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.