Investors Buy Large Volume of Put Options on Electronic Arts (NASDAQ:EA)

Key Points

• Investors bought an unusually large volume of put options on Electronic Arts — a total of 30,249 put contracts, a roughly 917% increase versus the average daily put volume of 2,973.
• Analyst consensus remains cautious with an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $188.30, below the recent share price (~$202.48).
• Company insiders have been selling: executives disposed of 27,600 shares (~$5.55 million) in the last quarter, including the CFO's sale of 1,500 shares, leaving insiders with just 0.24% ownership.

Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ:EA - Get Free Report) was the target of some unusual options trading activity on Monday. Investors acquired 30,249 put options on the company. This is an increase of approximately 917% compared to the average daily volume of 2,973 put options.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the stock. UBS Group reissued a "neutral" rating on shares of Electronic Arts in a research note on Wednesday, February 4th. Citigroup reduced their target price on shares of Electronic Arts from $207.00 to $202.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 4th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nineteen have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $188.30.

Insider Buying and Selling at Electronic Arts

In related news, CFO Stuart Canfield sold 1,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $199.90, for a total transaction of $299,850.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 5,897 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,178,810.30. This represents a 20.28% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Vijayanthimala Singh sold 1,200 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $199.69, for a total transaction of $239,628.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 29,960 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,982,712.40. This represents a 3.85% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 27,600 shares of company stock worth $5,553,319 in the last quarter. 0.24% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Electronic Arts

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. lifted its stake in shares of Electronic Arts by 8.1% in the 4th quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 4,643 shares of the game software company's stock worth $949,000 after acquiring an additional 346 shares during the period. World Investment Advisors acquired a new stake in Electronic Arts during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $206,000. Corient Private Wealth LLC lifted its stake in Electronic Arts by 73.2% during the fourth quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 45,435 shares of the game software company's stock valued at $9,284,000 after purchasing an additional 19,206 shares during the last quarter. Reflection Asset Management acquired a new stake in Electronic Arts during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $309,000. Finally, DGS Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Electronic Arts by 19.0% during the fourth quarter. DGS Capital Management LLC now owns 2,077 shares of the game software company's stock valued at $424,000 after purchasing an additional 332 shares during the last quarter. 90.23% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Electronic Arts Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:EA traded down $0.27 during trading on Monday, reaching $202.48. The company had a trading volume of 546,830 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,471,448. The firm's fifty day moving average is $201.16 and its 200 day moving average is $201.70. The firm has a market capitalization of $50.67 billion, a PE ratio of 76.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.18 and a beta of 0.73. Electronic Arts has a twelve month low of $141.04 and a twelve month high of $204.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a current ratio of 0.93.

Electronic Arts Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 18th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 25th were paid a $0.19 dividend. This represents a $0.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 25th. Electronic Arts's dividend payout ratio is currently 28.57%.

About Electronic Arts

Electronic Arts Inc NASDAQ: EA is a global interactive entertainment company headquartered in Redwood City, California. Founded in 1982 by Trip Hawkins, EA develops, publishes and distributes video games and related content for a variety of platforms, including consoles, personal computers and mobile devices. The company combines in-house development, partnerships and studio acquisitions to create and maintain a portfolio of entertainment properties and live-service experiences for players worldwide.

EA's product lineup spans several well-known franchises and genres.

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