Lionsgate Studios Corp. (NYSE:LION) Given Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

Lionsgate Studios Corp. (NYSE:LION) has received a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the fourteen brokerages that are covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 12 month price objective among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $9.8636.

LION has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Lionsgate Studios from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, January 5th. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $11.00 price objective on shares of Lionsgate Studios in a research report on Friday, February 6th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Lionsgate Studios from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, February 14th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Lionsgate Studios from $9.00 to $12.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Lionsgate Studios in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd.

Lionsgate Studios Trading Up 3.5%

Lionsgate Studios stock opened at $8.55 on Thursday. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $8.96 and a 200-day simple moving average of $7.44. The stock has a market cap of $2.48 billion, a P/E ratio of -10.06 and a beta of -0.48. Lionsgate Studios has a 12-month low of $5.55 and a 12-month high of $10.09.

Lionsgate Studios (NYSE:LION) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 5th. The company reported ($0.07) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.02) by ($0.05). The company had revenue of $724.30 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $706.03 million. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Lionsgate Studios will post 0.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Lionsgate Studios news, insider Michael Raymond Burns sold 21,748 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $9.01, for a total transaction of $195,949.48. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 3,061,213 shares in the company, valued at approximately $27,581,529.13. This trade represents a 0.71% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 32.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Lionsgate Studios

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Liberty 77 Capital L.P. purchased a new position in Lionsgate Studios in the 2nd quarter valued at about $214,831,000. Jericho Capital Asset Management L.P. purchased a new position in Lionsgate Studios during the fourth quarter worth about $51,119,000. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Lionsgate Studios by 251.0% in the second quarter. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. now owns 5,805,850 shares of the company’s stock worth $33,732,000 after acquiring an additional 4,151,822 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Lionsgate Studios by 658.6% during the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,740,225 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,547,000 after buying an additional 4,115,334 shares during the period. Finally, Anson Funds Management LP boosted its holdings in Lionsgate Studios by 36.3% in the fourth 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 during the last quarter.

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.