Electronic Arts (NASDAQ:EA) Given "Buy" Rating at Benchmark

Electronic Arts (NASDAQ:EA - Get Free Report)'s stock had its "buy" rating restated by analysts at Benchmark in a note issued to investors on Thursday, Benzinga reports. They presently have a $153.00 target price on the game software company's stock. Benchmark's target price would suggest a potential upside of 21.79% from the stock's current price.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports on EA. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on shares of Electronic Arts from $152.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 18th. BMO Capital Markets began coverage on shares of Electronic Arts in a research note on Tuesday, January 9th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $160.00 price target on the stock. Wedbush reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $162.00 price target on shares of Electronic Arts in a research note on Wednesday, January 31st. Finally, UBS Group decreased their price target on shares of Electronic Arts from $146.00 to $143.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, March 27th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $147.00.

Electronic Arts Stock Performance

Electronic Arts stock traded down $0.68 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $125.63. 1,389,542 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,044,055. The stock has a market cap of $33.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.64, a P/E/G ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 0.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a quick ratio of 1.33 and a current ratio of 1.33. Electronic Arts has a 52-week low of $117.47 and a 52-week high of $144.53. The firm's 50 day moving average is $135.02 and its 200 day moving average is $134.25.

Electronic Arts (NASDAQ:EA - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 30th. The game software company reported $1.07 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $2.45 by ($1.38). Electronic Arts had a net margin of 14.09% and a return on equity of 20.58%. The company had revenue of $2.37 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.40 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.29 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that Electronic Arts will post 5.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Andrew Wilson sold 2,500 shares of Electronic Arts stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $138.88, for a total value of $347,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 30,930 shares in the company, valued at $4,295,558.40. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other Electronic Arts news, insider Vijayanthimala Singh sold 800 shares of Electronic Arts stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $137.43, for a total value of $109,944.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 28,683 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,941,904.69. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Andrew Wilson sold 2,500 shares of Electronic Arts stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $138.88, for a total transaction of $347,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 30,930 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,295,558.40. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 37,144 shares of company stock worth $5,143,560. Insiders own 0.20% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Electronic Arts

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Electronic Arts by 16.3% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 25,636,385 shares of the game software company's stock valued at $3,086,621,000 after acquiring an additional 3,600,388 shares during the period. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in Electronic Arts by 2.2% in the first quarter. State Street Corp now owns 12,912,701 shares of the game software company's stock worth $1,555,333,000 after purchasing an additional 272,146 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Electronic Arts by 0.9% in the first quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,808,956 shares of the game software company's stock worth $698,212,000 after purchasing an additional 52,736 shares during the period. Capital International Investors lifted its holdings in Electronic Arts by 8.3% in the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 5,067,765 shares of the game software company's stock worth $693,318,000 after purchasing an additional 386,630 shares during the period. Finally, Invesco Ltd. lifted its holdings in Electronic Arts by 7.8% in the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 4,156,556 shares of the game software company's stock worth $500,449,000 after purchasing an additional 301,194 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.23% of the company's stock.

About Electronic Arts

Electronic Arts Inc develops, markets, publishes, and distributes games, content, and services for game consoles, PCs, mobile phones, and tablets worldwide. It develops and publishes games and services across various genres, such as sports, racing, first-person shooter, action, role-playing, and simulation primarily under the Battlefield, The Sims, Apex Legends, Need for Speed, and license games from others, including FIFA, Madden NFL, UFC, and Star Wars brands.