Short Interest in Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ:EA) Declines By 9.5%

by · The Markets Daily

Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ:EA – Get Free Report) saw a significant decrease in short interest in the month of September. As of September 30th, there was short interest totalling 6,010,000 shares, a decrease of 9.5% from the September 15th total of 6,640,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 2,070,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.9 days. Currently, 2.5% of the company’s shares are short sold.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently issued reports on EA. UBS Group increased their target price on Electronic Arts from $143.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Roth Mkm reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $154.00 price objective on shares of Electronic Arts in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on shares of Electronic Arts from $165.00 to $167.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Electronic Arts from $148.00 to $155.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, July 15th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $154.00 price objective on shares of Electronic Arts in a research report on Wednesday. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $161.94.

Check Out Our Latest Report on Electronic Arts

Electronic Arts Stock Down 0.6 %

EA traded down $0.84 on Thursday, reaching $144.20. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,095,789 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,064,459. The company has a market capitalization of $38.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.81, a P/E/G ratio of 1.95 and a beta of 0.79. The company has a quick ratio of 1.45, a current ratio of 1.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25. Electronic Arts has a fifty-two week low of $119.92 and a fifty-two week high of $153.51. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $145.21 and a two-hundred day moving average of $138.94.

Electronic Arts (NASDAQ:EA – Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The game software company reported $0.09 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.03 by $0.06. Electronic Arts had a net margin of 15.77% and a return on equity of 16.34%. The firm had revenue of $1.26 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.21 billion. As a group, analysts forecast that Electronic Arts will post 5.93 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Electronic Arts Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 18th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, August 28th were issued a $0.19 dividend. This represents a $0.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.53%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, August 28th. Electronic Arts’s payout ratio is currently 16.24%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Andrew Wilson sold 2,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $142.42, for a total value of $356,050.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 59,247 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,437,957.74. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, CFO Stuart Canfield sold 1,260 shares of Electronic Arts stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $148.37, for a total value of $186,946.20. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 7,553 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,120,638.61. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Andrew Wilson sold 2,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $142.42, for a total value of $356,050.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 59,247 shares in the company, valued at $8,437,957.74. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 24,770 shares of company stock worth $3,643,785. Company insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Electronic Arts

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Stonegate Investment Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Electronic Arts during the third quarter worth about $222,000. Claro Advisors LLC raised its stake in Electronic Arts by 1,865.3% during the 3rd quarter. Claro Advisors LLC now owns 43,394 shares of the game software company’s stock valued at $6,224,000 after acquiring an additional 41,186 shares during the last quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC lifted its position in Electronic Arts by 5.6% during the 3rd quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 9,481 shares of the game software company’s stock worth $1,360,000 after acquiring an additional 500 shares during the period. Bleakley Financial Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Electronic Arts by 6.9% in the 3rd quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC now owns 14,881 shares of the game software company’s stock valued at $2,135,000 after purchasing an additional 961 shares during the last quarter. Finally, nVerses Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Electronic Arts in the third quarter valued at approximately $186,000. 90.23% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Electronic Arts Company Profile

(Get Free Report)

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.

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