Benchmark Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Electronic Arts (NASDAQ:EA) Stock

Electronic Arts (NASDAQ:EA) had its target price raised by Benchmark from $140.00 to $160.00 in a report released on Monday, Marketbeat reports. The brokerage presently has a “buy” rating on the game software company’s stock. Benchmark’s price objective suggests a potential upside of 10.73% from the company’s current price.

A number of other research analysts have also recently issued reports on the company. Bank of America lifted their price objective on Electronic Arts from $130.00 to $132.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price target on shares of Electronic Arts from $167.00 to $159.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. DA Davidson started coverage on shares of Electronic Arts in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $140.00 price objective on the stock. BNP Paribas cut shares of Electronic Arts from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $125.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Wedbush reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $173.00 target price on shares of Electronic Arts in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $155.65.

Electronic Arts Trading Down 0.0 %

Shares of EA stock opened at $144.50 on Monday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $132.86 and a 200-day moving average of $144.61. The stock has a market cap of $37.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.77, a P/E/G ratio of 3.58 and a beta of 0.78. Electronic Arts has a 52-week low of $115.21 and a 52-week high of $168.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a quick ratio of 1.38 and a current ratio of 1.38.

Electronic Arts (NASDAQ:EA) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The game software company reported $2.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.41 by ($1.07). Electronic Arts had a return on equity of 17.80% and a net margin of 14.28%. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Electronic Arts will post 4.71 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Electronic Arts

In other news, CEO Andrew Wilson sold 5,000 shares of Electronic Arts stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $142.50, for a total value of $712,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 32,615 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,647,637.50. This trade represents a 13.29 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Vijayanthimala Singh sold 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $147.57, for a total transaction of $147,570.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 29,216 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,311,405.12. The trade was a 3.31 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 23,000 shares of company stock valued at $3,166,740 over the last 90 days. 0.22% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Electronic Arts

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Swedbank AB boosted its holdings in shares of Electronic Arts by 6.3% during the 4th quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 1,607,817 shares of the game software company’s stock worth $235,224,000 after buying an additional 95,190 shares during the period. Atomi Financial Group Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Electronic Arts during the fourth quarter worth approximately $217,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Electronic Arts by 2.5% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,456,520 shares of the game software company’s stock valued at $213,089,000 after purchasing an additional 36,153 shares during the last quarter. Fisher Funds Management LTD bought a new position in shares of Electronic Arts during the fourth quarter worth approximately $3,730,000. Finally, Deroy & Devereaux Private Investment Counsel Inc. acquired a new stake in Electronic Arts during the 4th quarter worth approximately $13,845,000. Institutional investors own 90.23% of the company’s stock.

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.