Lionsgate Studios (NYSE:LION) Hits New 52-Week High on Analyst Upgrade

Key Points

• Morgan Stanley raised its price target on Lionsgate from $11.00 to $14.00 and kept an overweight rating, helping NYSE:LION reach a new 52-week high of $12.65 on heavy trading.
• Analyst coverage is mixed: MarketBeat shows a consensus rating of Hold with a $11.71 consensus price target, based on 7 Buys, 5 Holds and 1 Sell and recent divergent notes from Citigroup, Benchmark and Weiss Ratings.
• Large institutional investors have been increasing stakes (Anson Funds +36.3% to 9.56M shares; Jericho opened a ~$51M position), while Lionsgate reported a quarterly earnings miss (EPS -$0.07 vs. -$0.02 est) and a market cap of $3.58B with a negative P/E.

Lionsgate Studios Corp. (NYSE:LION - Get Free Report) hit a new 52-week high during trading on Friday after Morgan Stanley raised their price target on the stock from $11.00 to $14.00. Morgan Stanley currently has an overweight rating on the stock. Lionsgate Studios traded as high as $12.65 and last traded at $12.36, with a volume of 114179 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $12.44.

Several other research analysts also recently commented on LION. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of Lionsgate Studios in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. Citigroup downgraded Lionsgate Studios from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $11.00 to $12.60 in a research report on Monday, April 20th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Lionsgate Studios from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Sunday, April 26th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Lionsgate Studios from $9.00 to $12.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Finally, Benchmark lifted their price target on Lionsgate Studios from $12.00 to $15.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $11.71.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Lionsgate Studios

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Anson Funds Management LP raised its holdings in Lionsgate Studios by 36.3% in the 4th quarter. Anson Funds Management LP now owns 9,556,948 shares of the company's stock valued at $87,255,000 after acquiring an additional 2,543,352 shares in the last quarter. Jericho Capital Asset Management L.P. acquired a new position in Lionsgate Studios in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $51,119,000. Broad Bay Capital Management LP raised its holdings in Lionsgate Studios by 38.7% in the 4th quarter. Broad Bay Capital Management LP now owns 5,168,008 shares of the company's stock valued at $47,184,000 after acquiring an additional 1,441,700 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Lionsgate Studios by 7.2% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,920,277 shares of the company's stock valued at $44,930,000 after acquiring an additional 331,025 shares in the last quarter. Finally, State Street Corp raised its holdings in Lionsgate Studios by 3.7% in the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 4,706,141 shares of the company's stock valued at $42,967,000 after acquiring an additional 168,307 shares in the last quarter.

Lionsgate Studios Trading Down 1.0%

The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $10.15 and a 200 day simple moving average of $8.71. The stock has a market cap of $3.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -14.49 and a beta of -0.48.

Lionsgate Studios (NYSE:LION - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 5th. The company reported ($0.07) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.02) by ($0.05). The firm had revenue of $724.30 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $706.03 million. On average, equities analysts expect that Lionsgate Studios Corp. will post -0.53 earnings per share for the current year.

Lionsgate Studios Company Profile

Lionsgate Studios, operating under the ticker NYSE:LION, is a leading global entertainment company specializing in the production, acquisition and distribution of motion pictures, television programming and digital content. Headquartered in Santa Monica, California, and with additional operations in Vancouver, the company develops, finances and markets feature films that span a wide range of genres—from major franchise hits like The Hunger Games and John Wick to independent and specialty titles.

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