Light & Wonder (NASDAQ:LNW) Trading 3.7% Higher - Here's What Happened

Light & Wonder, Inc. (NASDAQ:LNW - Get Free Report)'s stock price shot up 3.7% on Friday . The stock traded as high as $85.00 and last traded at $85.03. 266,575 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 67% from the average session volume of 809,910 shares. The stock had previously closed at $82.01.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have commented on LNW shares. Macquarie cut their price objective on shares of Light & Wonder from $125.00 to $120.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Light & Wonder from $103.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on shares of Light & Wonder from $84.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, May 8th. Truist Financial cut their price objective on shares of Light & Wonder from $115.00 to $110.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Finally, Benchmark cut their price objective on shares of Light & Wonder from $130.00 to $100.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, May 12th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $106.82.

Light & Wonder Price Performance

The company's 50-day moving average price is $86.37 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $91.53. The company has a market cap of $7.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.71, a P/E/G ratio of 0.35 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a current ratio of 1.88, a quick ratio of 1.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.49.

Light & Wonder (NASDAQ:LNW - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The company reported $0.94 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.17 by ($0.23). Light & Wonder had a return on equity of 49.91% and a net margin of 9.30%. The company had revenue of $774.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $802.93 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.88 EPS. Light & Wonder's revenue for the quarter was up 2.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Light & Wonder, Inc. will post 4.3 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Light & Wonder

In related news, CAO Vanja Kalabic sold 1,132 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $104.41, for a total transaction of $118,192.12. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 5,016 shares of the company's stock, valued at $523,720.56. This represents a 18.41% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Siobhan Lane sold 3,784 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $105.37, for a total transaction of $398,720.08. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 21,254 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,239,533.98. This represents a 15.11% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 9,867 shares of company stock valued at $1,037,884 in the last quarter. Insiders own 2.20% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its position in Light & Wonder by 4,783.3% in the 1st quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 293 shares of the company's stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 287 shares during the last quarter. R Squared Ltd bought a new position in Light & Wonder in the 4th quarter worth about $35,000. Farther Finance Advisors LLC grew its position in Light & Wonder by 3,861.1% in the 1st quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 713 shares of the company's stock worth $63,000 after purchasing an additional 695 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. grew its position in Light & Wonder by 194.3% in the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 718 shares of the company's stock worth $65,000 after purchasing an additional 474 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd bought a new position in Light & Wonder in the 1st quarter worth about $71,000. Institutional investors own 88.08% of the company's stock.

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.