Raymond James Financial Upgrades Starz Entertainment (NASDAQ:STRZ) to "Strong-Buy"

Key Points

• Raymond James upgraded Starz Entertainment to “strong buy” and set a $36 price target, implying 65.59% upside from the previous close. Analysts overall give the stock a “Moderate Buy” rating with an average target of $33.71.
• Starz reported quarterly revenue of $322.4 million but missed earnings expectations, posting a loss of $2.02 per share versus the anticipated $1.63 loss. The company remains unprofitable, with analysts expecting a full-year loss of $6.12 per share.
• Insiders have sold approximately 1.8 million shares worth $44.9 million over the past three months, while several institutional investors—including BlackRock and NewEdge Wealth—established new positions.

Starz Entertainment (NASDAQ:STRZ - Get Free Report) was upgraded by equities research analysts at Raymond James Financial from an "outperform" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report issued on Friday, Briefing.com reports. The firm currently has a $36.00 price objective on the stock. Raymond James Financial's price target would suggest a potential upside of 65.59% from the company's previous close.

STRZ has been the topic of several other reports. Citigroup began coverage on Starz Entertainment in a research report on Monday, September 14th. They set an "outperform" rating on the stock. Wall Street Zen downgraded Starz Entertainment from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Saturday, July 25th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a "hold" rating and issued a $30.00 target price on shares of Starz Entertainment in a research report on Tuesday, August 18th. Morgan Stanley set a $30.00 target price on Starz Entertainment in a research note on Monday, August 10th. Finally, Citizens Jmp assumed coverage on shares of Starz Entertainment in a research report on Monday, September 14th. They set a "market outperform" rating and a $40.00 price target on the stock. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have assigned a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Starz Entertainment currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $33.71.

Starz Entertainment Stock Down 3.4%

Shares of NASDAQ:STRZ opened at $21.74 on Friday. Starz Entertainment has a 52-week low of $8.40 and a 52-week high of $32.58. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $24.81 and a 200 day moving average of $20.49. The firm has a market capitalization of $372.28 million, a PE ratio of -0.85 and a beta of 2.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.05, a quick ratio of 0.25 and a current ratio of 0.25.

Starz Entertainment (NASDAQ:STRZ - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 29th. The company reported ($2.02) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of ($1.63) by ($0.39). Starz Entertainment had a negative net margin of 33.98% and a negative return on equity of 25.64%. The firm had revenue of $322.40 million for the quarter. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Starz Entertainment will post -6.12 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, major shareholder Allen Family Capital, Llc sold 363,786 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $21.06, for a total transaction of $7,661,333.16. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In the last three months, insiders sold 1,803,786 shares of company stock worth $44,912,698. Corporate insiders own 22.62% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Starz Entertainment in the second quarter valued at about $35,599,000. Renaissance Technologies LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Starz Entertainment during the first quarter worth about $577,000. NewEdge Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Starz Entertainment during the second quarter worth about $13,911,000. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of Starz Entertainment in the second quarter worth about $1,411,000. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp bought a new stake in shares of Starz Entertainment in the second quarter worth about $9,018,000.

Starz Entertainment News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Starz Entertainment this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Third-quarter revenue reached approximately $322.4 million, exceeding estimates, while total and OTT revenue grew both sequentially and year over year. Adjusted OIBDA more than doubled from the prior year. Starz Entertainment Corp. Reports Third-Quarter Results
• Positive Sentiment: Management said the net loss narrowed to $34.8 million as streaming gains offset continued declines in the linear television business. Starz reaffirmed its 2026 and 2027 objectives, including OTT revenue growth, adjusted OIBDA growth, lower leverage and improving free cash flow. Starz Narrows Net Loss as Streaming Offsets Linear Declines
• Neutral Sentiment: Starz is emphasizing greater ownership of original programming to improve the long-term economics of its content slate. The strategy could support margins, but execution remains important in a competitive direct-to-consumer market. Starz Q3 Revenue Grows and Losses Narrow
• Negative Sentiment: Starz reported a quarterly loss of roughly $2.02 to $2.14 per share, worse than analyst expectations for a loss of $1.33 to $1.63 per share. The earnings miss likely outweighed the revenue beat, despite the loss improving from the prior year. Starz Reports Q3 Loss and Tops Revenue Estimates
• Negative Sentiment: Major shareholder Allen Family Capital disclosed numerous stock sales during August and September, including a combined reduction of hundreds of thousands of shares. The sustained selling may pressure sentiment, although the transactions occurred before the earnings release. SEC Ownership Filing

About Starz Entertainment

Starz Entertainment Corp. is a media and entertainment company that operates premium subscription television and streaming services. Its offerings include the STARZ premium network, related linear television channels and the STARZ streaming platform, which provides original series, feature films and licensed entertainment content.

The company's programming has included original dramas, comedies and franchises, as well as a selection of theatrical and television movies. STARZ content is distributed through traditional pay-TV providers, digital platforms and direct-to-consumer subscriptions, with availability varying by market and distribution partner.

Starz was established in 1994 as a premium television service and was acquired by Lionsgate in 2016.

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