Morgan Stanley Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Lionsgate Studios (NYSE:LION) Stock

Key Points

• Morgan Stanley raised its target price for Lionsgate to $14 (from $11) and kept an overweight rating, implying roughly a 12.45% upside from the current price.
• Overall analyst sentiment is mixed — the consensus is a Hold with an average target of $11.71, and recent notes include both downgrades and price-target increases from other firms.
• Institutional interest has grown, with large new or increased stakes from firms like Jericho Capital and Anson Funds, while Lionsgate reported a quarterly EPS miss (-$0.07) but beat revenue estimates and trades around $12.45 with a negative P/E.

Lionsgate Studios (NYSE:LION - Get Free Report) had its target price increased by research analysts at Morgan Stanley from $11.00 to $14.00 in a research report issued on Friday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an "overweight" rating on the stock. Morgan Stanley's price target points to a potential upside of 12.45% from the company's current price.

Several other equities analysts also recently weighed in on LION. Wall Street Zen downgraded Lionsgate Studios from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Sunday, April 26th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of Lionsgate Studios in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Lionsgate Studios from $9.00 to $12.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Citigroup downgraded Lionsgate Studios from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and lifted their target price for the company from $11.00 to $12.60 in a research report on Monday, April 20th. Finally, Zacks Research raised Lionsgate Studios from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, January 5th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Lionsgate Studios currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $11.71.

Lionsgate Studios Trading Up 2.0%

Shares of NYSE:LION opened at $12.45 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $3.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -14.65 and a beta of -0.48. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $10.15 and a 200 day moving average price of $8.71. Lionsgate Studios has a 12-month low of $5.55 and a 12-month high of $12.58.

Lionsgate Studios (NYSE:LION - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 5th. The company reported ($0.07) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.02) by ($0.05). The business had revenue of $724.30 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $706.03 million. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Lionsgate Studios will post -0.53 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Lionsgate Studios

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in LION. Jericho Capital Asset Management L.P. purchased a new position in shares of Lionsgate Studios in the 4th quarter valued at about $51,119,000. Anson Funds Management LP boosted its stake in shares of 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 buying an additional 2,543,352 shares during the period. Marshall Wace LLP boosted its stake in shares of Lionsgate Studios by 273.4% in the 4th quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 2,331,777 shares of the company's stock valued at $21,289,000 after buying an additional 1,707,282 shares during the period. Broad Bay Capital Management LP boosted its stake in shares of 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 buying an additional 1,441,700 shares during the period. Finally, Ratan Capital Management LP purchased a new position in shares of Lionsgate Studios in the 3rd quarter valued at about $9,142,000.

About Lionsgate Studios

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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