Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD Buys 3,472 Shares of Light & Wonder, Inc. $LNW

Key Points

• Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its stake in Light & Wonder, Inc. by 0.4%, holding approximately 1.07% of the company, valued at $78.1 million.
• Several institutional investors have significantly raised their positions, with Versant Capital Management increasing its stake by 4,783.3% during the first quarter.
• Analyst ratings for Light & Wonder vary, with Zacks downgrading the stock to a "hold," while Truist Financial boosted its target price from $110 to $130 with a "buy" rating.

Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its stake in Light & Wonder, Inc. (NASDAQ:LNW - Free Report) by 0.4% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 901,778 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 3,472 shares during the quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD owned about 1.07% of Light & Wonder worth $78,104,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Burgundy Asset Management Ltd. grew its holdings in Light & Wonder by 6.9% in the first quarter. Burgundy Asset Management Ltd. now owns 1,574,589 shares of the company's stock worth $136,375,000 after purchasing an additional 102,051 shares during the period. Bessemer Group Inc. grew its holdings in Light & Wonder by 321.7% in the first quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 1,572,022 shares of the company's stock worth $136,152,000 after purchasing an additional 1,199,213 shares during the period. Ninety One UK Ltd grew its holdings in Light & Wonder by 56.7% in the first quarter. Ninety One UK Ltd now owns 1,174,556 shares of the company's stock worth $101,728,000 after purchasing an additional 425,202 shares during the period. Deutsche Bank AG grew its holdings in Light & Wonder by 15.6% in the fourth quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 887,492 shares of the company's stock worth $76,662,000 after purchasing an additional 119,616 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in Light & Wonder by 1.0% in the first quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 733,888 shares of the company's stock worth $63,562,000 after purchasing an additional 7,544 shares during the period. 88.08% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Light & Wonder Trading Up 0.7%

NASDAQ LNW traded up $0.64 during trading on Friday, hitting $92.47. The company had a trading volume of 700,158 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,570,761. The company has a current ratio of 1.77, a quick ratio of 1.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.86. Light & Wonder, Inc. has a one year low of $69.56 and a one year high of $115.00. The company has a market cap of $7.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.55 and a beta of 1.21. The company's fifty day moving average is $93.81 and its 200-day moving average is $92.13.

Light & Wonder (NASDAQ:LNW - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The company reported $1.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.44 by $0.14. The company had revenue of $809.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $851.29 million. Light & Wonder had a net margin of 10.89% and a return on equity of 71.17%. Light & Wonder's quarterly revenue was down 1.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.90 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Light & Wonder, Inc. will post 4.3 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the stock. Macquarie reduced their price target on shares of Light & Wonder from $122.00 to $117.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, August 7th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Light & Wonder from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Sunday, July 13th. Truist Financial raised their price objective on shares of Light & Wonder from $110.00 to $130.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered shares of Light & Wonder from an "overweight" rating to a "neutral" rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $108.00 to $95.00 in a research note on Thursday, August 7th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on shares of Light & Wonder from $84.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 8th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $104.11.

Insider Activity at Light & Wonder

In related news, Director Jamie Odell purchased 8,275 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 7th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $78.81 per share, with a total value of $652,152.75. Following the acquisition, the director directly owned 8,275 shares in the company, valued at $652,152.75. The trade was a ∞ increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Antonia Korsanos purchased 8,065 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Sunday, August 10th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $80.05 per share, for a total transaction of $645,603.25. Following the acquisition, the director owned 22,815 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,826,340.75. The trade was a 54.68% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders bought 37,756 shares of company stock worth $3,209,088. 2.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

About Light & Wonder

Light & Wonder, Inc is a cross-platform global games company, which engages in the development of content and digital markets. It operates through the following segments: Gaming, SciPlay, and iGaming. The Gaming segment includes the design, manufacture, marketing, and distribution of portfolio of gaming products and services.