Raymond James Financial Inc. Trims Stock Position in IMAX Corporation $IMAX

Key Points

• Raymond James Financial Inc. reduced its stake in IMAX Corporation by 4.6%, now owning approximately 340,873 shares valued at $8,982,000.
• IMAX's Board of Directors has initiated a $100 million stock buyback program, signifying a belief that the stock is currently undervalued.
• Analysts have mixed opinions on IMAX, with one rating it as a Strong Buy, while others provide a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and set an average price target of $32.80.

Raymond James Financial Inc. lessened its position in IMAX Corporation (NYSE:IMAX - Free Report) by 4.6% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 340,873 shares of the company's stock after selling 16,267 shares during the quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. owned about 0.63% of IMAX worth $8,982,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its holdings in shares of IMAX by 36.9% in the fourth quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 1,823,516 shares of the company's stock valued at $46,671,000 after purchasing an additional 491,172 shares during the last quarter. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of IMAX by 805.9% in the first quarter. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. now owns 469,504 shares of the company's stock valued at $12,371,000 after purchasing an additional 417,677 shares during the last quarter. Deutsche Bank AG increased its holdings in shares of IMAX by 765.1% in the fourth quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 241,930 shares of the company's stock valued at $6,193,000 after purchasing an additional 213,965 shares during the last quarter. Nuveen LLC acquired a new stake in shares of IMAX in the first quarter valued at approximately $4,438,000. Finally, Polar Asset Management Partners Inc. increased its holdings in shares of IMAX by 191.6% in the fourth quarter. Polar Asset Management Partners Inc. now owns 204,536 shares of the company's stock valued at $5,236,000 after purchasing an additional 134,389 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.51% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently commented on IMAX. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on IMAX from $30.00 to $34.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, July 25th. Roth Capital reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $36.00 price target on shares of IMAX in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. Barrington Research reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $32.00 price target on shares of IMAX in a report on Thursday, July 24th. Rosenblatt Securities raised their target price on IMAX from $35.00 to $37.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, July 25th. Finally, Benchmark raised their target price on IMAX from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, July 25th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $32.80.

Insider Activity at IMAX

In other news, insider Kenneth Ian Weissman sold 15,072 shares of IMAX stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $25.65, for a total transaction of $386,596.80. Following the sale, the insider owned 26,133 shares in the company, valued at approximately $670,311.45. The trade was a 36.58% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 24.08% of the company's stock.

IMAX Trading Down 0.1%

NYSE:IMAX traded down $0.02 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $29.29. The company had a trading volume of 926,093 shares, compared to its average volume of 942,554. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 48.81, a PEG ratio of 1.97 and a beta of 0.68. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $26.91 and its 200-day simple moving average is $26.16. IMAX Corporation has a 12-month low of $18.76 and a 12-month high of $29.66.

IMAX (NYSE:IMAX - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 24th. The company reported $0.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.19 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $91.68 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $93.04 million. IMAX had a return on equity of 8.62% and a net margin of 9.04%.IMAX's revenue for the quarter was up 3.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.18 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that IMAX Corporation will post 0.91 EPS for the current year.

IMAX announced that its board has approved a share buyback program on Thursday, June 12th that permits the company to buyback $100.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to reacquire up to 6.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually a sign that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

IMAX Company Profile

IMAX Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, operates as a technology platform for entertainment and events worldwide. The company operates in two segments, Content Solutions and Technology Products and Services. The company offers IMAX DMR, a proprietary technology that digitally remasters films and other content into IMAX formats for distribution to the IMAX network; IMAX Enhanced that provides end-to-end technology across streaming content and entertainment devices at home; and SSIMWAVE, an AI-driven video quality solutions for media and entertainment companies.