JPMorgan Chase & Co. Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for IMAX (NYSE:IMAX) Stock

Key Points

• JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its price target for IMAX stock from $28.00 to $31.00, maintaining a "neutral" rating despite projecting a potential downside of 1.79% from its current price.
• Several analysts have varying ratings on IMAX, with Roth Capital asserting a "buy" rating and a price target of $36.00, as the company has seen quarterly growth and initiated a $100 million stock buyback plan.
• IMAX's stock has experienced volatility, hitting a 1-year high of $34.14 and a low of $19.27, while insiders have also sold shares, hinting at shifting confidence levels in the company.

IMAX (NYSE:IMAX - Get Free Report) had its price objective lifted by stock analysts at JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $28.00 to $31.00 in a research note issued on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a "neutral" rating on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co.'s target price would suggest a potential downside of 1.79% from the stock's current price.

A number of other research analysts also recently commented on the stock. Roth Capital reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $36.00 price objective on shares of IMAX in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of IMAX from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, August 22nd. Weiss Ratings restated a "hold (c+)" rating on shares of IMAX in a report on Wednesday. Wedbush raised their price target on shares of IMAX from $35.00 to $39.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, September 22nd. Finally, Barrington Research raised their price target on shares of IMAX from $32.00 to $37.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, September 19th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have assigned a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $34.20.

IMAX Stock Performance

IMAX stock traded down $0.65 during trading on Thursday, hitting $31.57. The stock had a trading volume of 52,715 shares, compared to its average volume of 928,997. The company's 50 day moving average price is $29.32 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $27.33. IMAX has a 1-year low of $19.27 and a 1-year high of $34.14. The stock has a market cap of $1.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 52.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 0.62.

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

IMAX announced that its board has initiated a stock buyback plan on Thursday, June 12th that permits the company to buyback $100.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to purchase up to 6.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are often an indication that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, VP Robert D. Lister sold 20,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $32.80, for a total transaction of $656,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president owned 161,421 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,294,608.80. This trade represents a 11.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, 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 value of $386,596.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 26,133 shares in the company, valued at $670,311.45. This represents a 36.58% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 23.18% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of IMAX

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Rhumbline Advisers boosted its position in IMAX by 7.7% during the 1st quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 60,447 shares of the company's stock worth $1,593,000 after acquiring an additional 4,325 shares during the period. North Star Investment Management Corp. acquired a new position in shares of IMAX in the 1st quarter valued at about $290,000. Mission Wealth Management LP increased its holdings in shares of IMAX by 2.9% in the 1st quarter. Mission Wealth Management LP now owns 30,408 shares of the company's stock valued at $801,000 after purchasing an additional 845 shares during the period. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV acquired a new position in shares of IMAX in the 1st quarter valued at about $59,000. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of IMAX by 4.4% in the 1st quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 108,550 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,860,000 after purchasing an additional 4,604 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.51% of the company's stock.

About IMAX

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.

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