Electronic Arts (NASDAQ:EA) Upgraded to "Buy" at HSBC

Electronic Arts (NASDAQ:EA - Get Free Report) was upgraded by research analysts at HSBC from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report issued on Wednesday,Briefing.com Automated Import reports. The brokerage presently has a $190.00 price target on the game software company's stock. HSBC's target price would indicate a potential upside of 20.75% from the company's previous close.

Several other analysts have also recently weighed in on the company. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on Electronic Arts from $135.00 to $148.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Wednesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Electronic Arts from $135.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday. Benchmark upped their price target on shares of Electronic Arts from $140.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, March 24th. Roth Mkm cut their target price on Electronic Arts from $158.00 to $134.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of Electronic Arts from $138.00 to $152.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 3rd. Fourteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $158.04.

Electronic Arts Stock Up 1.8 %

EA stock opened at $157.36 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $41.01 billion, a PE ratio of 39.99, a P/E/G ratio of 3.58 and a beta of 0.74. The stock's 50 day moving average is $141.87 and its 200-day moving average is $144.70. The company has a quick ratio of 1.38, a current ratio of 1.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25. Electronic Arts has a twelve month low of $115.21 and a twelve month high of $168.50.

Electronic Arts (NASDAQ:EA - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The game software company reported $2.34 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $3.41 by ($1.07). Electronic Arts had a return on equity of 17.80% and a net margin of 14.28%. Sell-side analysts expect that Electronic Arts will post 4.71 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Electronic Arts

In other Electronic Arts news, insider Vijayanthimala Singh sold 1,000 shares of Electronic Arts stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $145.56, for a total transaction of $145,560.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 25,216 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,670,440.96. The trade was a 3.81 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Andrew Wilson sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $130.14, for a total transaction of $650,700.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 37,615 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,895,216.10. This trade represents a 11.73 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 22,000 shares of company stock worth $3,056,270 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.22% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Electronic Arts by 1,366.6% in the first quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 1,118,685 shares of the game software company's stock worth $161,672,000 after buying an additional 1,042,407 shares during the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. lifted its position in shares of Electronic Arts by 28.9% in the 1st quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 20,459 shares of the game software company's stock worth $2,957,000 after acquiring an additional 4,584 shares during the period. John G Ullman & Associates Inc. raised its stake in shares of Electronic Arts by 8.3% in the first quarter. John G Ullman & Associates Inc. now owns 24,250 shares of the game software company's stock valued at $3,505,000 after purchasing an additional 1,850 shares in the last quarter. Jackson Hole Capital Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Electronic Arts by 5.3% in the 1st quarter. Jackson Hole Capital Partners LLC now owns 8,758 shares of the game software company's stock valued at $1,266,000 after buying an additional 441 shares in the last quarter. Finally, AE Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in Electronic Arts by 44.8% in the first quarter. AE Wealth Management LLC now owns 8,181 shares of the game software company's stock valued at $1,182,000 after acquiring an additional 2,533 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.

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