Lionsgate Studios (NYSE:LION) Trading 11.6% Higher – Time to Buy?

Lionsgate Studios Corp. (NYSE:LION) shares rose 11.6% during trading on Friday . The stock traded as high as $9.27 and last traded at $9.21. Approximately 1,756,656 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 29% from the average daily volume of 2,468,473 shares. The stock had previously closed at $8.25.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have commented on LION shares. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Lionsgate Studios from $9.00 to $12.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Barrington Research restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $11.50 target price on shares of Lionsgate Studios in a report on Friday, February 6th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Lionsgate Studios from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, February 14th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Lionsgate Studios in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $11.00 price objective on shares of Lionsgate Studios in a research note on Friday, February 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have issued a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $9.86.

Lionsgate Studios Price Performance

The business has a 50 day moving average of $8.98 and a 200 day moving average of $7.56. The company has a market cap of $2.61 billion, a PE ratio of -10.60 and a beta of -0.48.

Lionsgate Studios (NYSE:LION) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 5th. The company reported ($0.07) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.02) by ($0.05). The business had revenue of $724.30 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $706.03 million. Sell-side analysts forecast that Lionsgate Studios Corp. will post 0.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Michael Raymond Burns sold 21,748 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $9.01, for a total value of $195,949.48. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 3,061,213 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $27,581,529.13. This represents a 0.71% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 32.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Lionsgate Studios

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in LION. New York State Common Retirement Fund raised its holdings in Lionsgate Studios by 2.3% in the fourth quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 53,587 shares of the company’s stock worth $489,000 after purchasing an additional 1,200 shares in the last quarter. Cresset Asset Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Lionsgate Studios by 2.9% in the 3rd quarter. Cresset Asset Management LLC now owns 60,924 shares of the company’s stock worth $420,000 after acquiring an additional 1,743 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in shares of Lionsgate Studios by 99.3% in the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 3,559 shares of the company’s stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 1,773 shares in the last quarter. GABELLI & Co INVESTMENT ADVISERS INC. lifted its position in Lionsgate Studios by 10.0% during the 4th quarter. GABELLI & Co INVESTMENT ADVISERS INC. now owns 20,925 shares of the company’s stock valued at $191,000 after acquiring an additional 1,900 shares during the period. Finally, ProShare Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Lionsgate Studios by 6.9% during the fourth quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 37,454 shares of the company’s stock worth $342,000 after acquiring an additional 2,410 shares in 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.