Citigroup Issues Positive Forecast for Lionsgate Studios (NYSE:LION) Stock Price

Key Points

• Citigroup raised its price target on Lionsgate from $9.00 to $11.00 and maintained a "buy" rating, implying roughly a 16% upside from the prior close.
• Analyst coverage is mixed but tilted positive: MarketBeat shows a consensus of "Moderate Buy" with an average target of $9.95 (1 Strong Buy, 7 Buy, 5 Hold, 1 Sell).
• Lionsgate reported Q earnings of ($0.07) EPS (miss vs. ($0.02) est.) while revenue beat at $724.3M; the stock rose about 2.8% to $9.48, with a recent insider sale amid large institutional stake increases.

Lionsgate Studios (NYSE:LION - Get Free Report) had its price target hoisted by equities researchers at Citigroup from $9.00 to $11.00 in a research note issued on Monday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a "buy" rating on the stock. Citigroup's target price would indicate a potential upside of 16.03% from the stock's previous close.

A number of other brokerages have also issued reports on LION. Wall Street Zen lowered Lionsgate Studios from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Saturday, February 14th. Barrington Research reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $11.50 target price on shares of Lionsgate Studios in a research report on Friday, February 6th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of Lionsgate Studios in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Morgan Stanley reissued an "overweight" rating and set a $11.00 price target on shares of Lionsgate Studios in a research report on Friday, February 6th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded Lionsgate Studios from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, January 5th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have assigned a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Lionsgate Studios presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $9.95.

Lionsgate Studios Stock Up 2.8%

LION stock traded up $0.26 during trading on Monday, hitting $9.48. The company had a trading volume of 320,105 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,595,082. Lionsgate Studios has a 52-week low of $5.55 and a 52-week high of $11.02. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $9.21 and a 200-day simple moving average of $7.93. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.75 billion, a P/E ratio of -11.15 and a beta of -0.39.

Lionsgate Studios (NYSE:LION - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 5th. The company reported ($0.07) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.02) by ($0.05). The business had revenue of $724.30 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $706.03 million. Sell-side analysts forecast that Lionsgate Studios will post 0.08 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Lionsgate Studios

In other Lionsgate Studios news, insider Michael Raymond Burns sold 21,748 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $9.01, for a total value of $195,949.48. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 3,061,213 shares in the company, valued at approximately $27,581,529.13. The trade was a 0.71% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 32.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Lionsgate Studios

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of LION. Anson Funds Management LP boosted its stake in Lionsgate Studios by 36.3% in the fourth quarter. Anson Funds Management LP now owns 9,556,948 shares of the company's stock valued at $87,255,000 after acquiring an additional 2,543,352 shares in the last quarter. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Lionsgate Studios by 251.0% during the second quarter. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. now owns 5,805,850 shares of the company's stock worth $33,732,000 after purchasing an additional 4,151,822 shares in the last quarter. Jericho Capital Asset Management L.P. purchased a new stake in shares of Lionsgate Studios during the 4th quarter valued at $51,119,000. Broad Bay Capital Management LP lifted its holdings in shares of Lionsgate Studios by 38.7% during the 4th quarter. Broad Bay Capital Management LP now owns 5,168,008 shares of the company's stock valued at $47,184,000 after purchasing an additional 1,441,700 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Lionsgate Studios by 7.2% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,920,277 shares of the company's stock worth $44,930,000 after purchasing an additional 331,025 shares in the last quarter.

Lionsgate Studios Company Profile

Lionsgate Studios, operating under the ticker NYSE:LION, is a leading global entertainment company specializing in the production, acquisition and distribution of motion pictures, television programming and digital content. Headquartered in Santa Monica, California, and with additional operations in Vancouver, the company develops, finances and markets feature films that span a wide range of genres—from major franchise hits like The Hunger Games and John Wick to independent and specialty titles.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.