Electronic Arts (NASDAQ:EA) Lowered to Neutral Rating by Wedbush

Key Points

• Electronic Arts has been downgraded from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating by Wedbush, following similar downgrades from other firms, indicating a shift in market sentiment.
• The company has a current consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $168.64, with 19 analysts rating it as a hold.
• Insider trading activity included sales by executives, with one insider selling over 1,200 shares and the CEO decreasing his ownership by 8.71%.

Electronic Arts (NASDAQ:EA - Get Free Report) was downgraded by research analysts at Wedbush from an "outperform" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research report issued on Monday, Marketbeat reports. They currently have a $200.00 target price on the game software company's stock. Wedbush's price objective points to a potential downside of 0.46% from the stock's current price.

A number of other research firms have also recently commented on EA. UBS Group set a $167.00 target price on shares of Electronic Arts and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, August 1st. Wells Fargo & Company set a $168.00 price objective on shares of Electronic Arts and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, July 28th. Bank of America lifted their target price on shares of Electronic Arts from $166.00 to $168.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 30th. Citigroup reissued a "neutral" rating on shares of Electronic Arts in a research note on Friday, September 26th. Finally, Arete Research set a $192.00 price target on shares of Electronic Arts in a research note on Tuesday, August 5th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating, twenty-three have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $177.00.

Electronic Arts Price Performance

NASDAQ EA traded down $0.71 on Monday, reaching $200.92. The company had a trading volume of 3,354,194 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,577,924. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $170.50 and its 200 day moving average price is $155.76. Electronic Arts has a 12 month low of $115.21 and a 12 month high of $203.75. The company has a quick ratio of 0.84, a current ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24. The stock has a market capitalization of $50.27 billion, a PE ratio of 50.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.05 and a beta of 0.77.

Insider Buying and Selling at Electronic Arts

In other Electronic Arts news, CEO Andrew Wilson sold 5,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $171.05, for a total transaction of $855,250.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 52,393 shares in the company, valued at $8,961,822.65. The trade was a 8.71% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Jacob J. Schatz sold 1,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $148.32, for a total transaction of $222,480.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 28,448 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,219,407.36. The trade was a 5.01% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 38,500 shares of company stock valued at $6,743,160. 0.24% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Salomon & Ludwin LLC increased its holdings in Electronic Arts by 70.1% in the 2nd quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC now owns 165 shares of the game software company's stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 68 shares during the last quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB increased its holdings in Electronic Arts by 3.7% in the 2nd quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 2,023 shares of the game software company's stock valued at $323,000 after purchasing an additional 72 shares during the last quarter. Financial Management Professionals Inc. increased its holdings in Electronic Arts by 15.0% in the 1st quarter. Financial Management Professionals Inc. now owns 560 shares of the game software company's stock valued at $81,000 after purchasing an additional 73 shares during the last quarter. Bank of Jackson Hole Trust increased its holdings in Electronic Arts by 56.4% in the 1st quarter. Bank of Jackson Hole Trust now owns 208 shares of the game software company's stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Whipplewood Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Electronic Arts by 34.2% in the 1st quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC now owns 298 shares of the game software company's stock valued at $43,000 after purchasing an additional 76 shares during the last quarter. 90.23% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Electronic Arts

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.