Wedbush Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for IMAX (NYSE:IMAX) Stock

Key Points

• Wedbush has increased its price target for IMAX stock from $34.00 to $35.00, indicating a potential upside of 26.84% from its previous close, and maintaining an "outperform" rating.
• The company recently posted better-than-expected earnings of $0.26 per share, beating analysts' estimates of $0.19, with a year-over-year revenue increase of 3.1%.
• IMAX's Board of Directors has authorized a $100 million share buyback program, signaling a belief that the stock is currently undervalued.
• Institutional investors own 93.51% of IMAX's stock, with significant recent purchases from firms like FMR LLC and Jane Street Group.

IMAX (NYSE:IMAX - Get Free Report) had its price target increased by stock analysts at Wedbush from $34.00 to $35.00 in a report issued on Friday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an "outperform" rating on the stock. Wedbush's price target would suggest a potential upside of 26.84% from the stock's previous close.

IMAX has been the topic of a number of other reports. B. Riley reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $36.00 price objective on shares of IMAX in a research report on Friday, May 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on shares of IMAX from $27.00 to $26.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Benchmark increased their price objective on IMAX from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday. Barrington Research reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $32.00 price objective on shares of IMAX in a report on Thursday. Finally, Roth Capital reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $36.00 price objective on shares of IMAX in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $32.40.

IMAX Trading Down 2.5%

Shares of IMAX stock traded down $0.70 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $27.59. The stock had a trading volume of 38,189 shares, compared to its average volume of 900,262. The stock's 50 day moving average is $27.70 and its 200 day moving average is $25.68. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.48 billion, a PE ratio of 58.97, a PEG ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 0.80. IMAX has a twelve month low of $18.76 and a twelve month high of $29.66.

IMAX (NYSE:IMAX - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 24th. The company reported $0.26 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.19 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $91.68 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $93.04 million. IMAX had a net margin of 6.98% and a return on equity of 7.79%. IMAX's quarterly revenue was up 3.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.18 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that IMAX will post 0.91 earnings per share for the current year.

IMAX declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback program on Thursday, June 12th that allows the company to buyback $100.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to buy up to 6.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are typically a sign that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. FMR LLC boosted its position in IMAX by 14.2% during the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 4,508,583 shares of the company's stock worth $115,420,000 after purchasing an additional 558,940 shares in the last quarter. Jane Street Group LLC boosted its position in IMAX by 2,496.9% during the first quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 573,919 shares of the company's stock worth $15,123,000 after purchasing an additional 551,819 shares in the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its position in IMAX by 36.9% during the fourth quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 1,823,516 shares of the company's stock worth $46,671,000 after purchasing an additional 491,172 shares in the last quarter. Orbis Allan Gray Ltd boosted its position in IMAX by 12.3% during the first quarter. Orbis Allan Gray Ltd now owns 3,882,766 shares of the company's stock worth $102,311,000 after purchasing an additional 425,081 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Driehaus Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in IMAX in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $11,181,000. 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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