The Goldman Sachs Group Increases Electronic Arts (NASDAQ:EA) Price Target to $155.00

Electronic Arts (NASDAQ:EA) had its price target hoisted by The Goldman Sachs Group from $135.00 to $155.00 in a report released on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a “neutral” rating on the game software company’s stock. The Goldman Sachs Group’s price target points to a potential upside of 1.11% from the company’s previous close.

Several other research firms have also recently issued reports on EA. BMO Capital Markets decreased their target price on shares of Electronic Arts from $145.00 to $142.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Ascendiant Capital Markets increased their target price on shares of Electronic Arts from $157.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. Moffett Nathanson restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $163.00 price target on shares of Electronic Arts in a research note on Wednesday. Hsbc Global Res upgraded Electronic Arts from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Citigroup cut their price objective on Electronic Arts from $163.00 to $139.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Fifteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Electronic Arts currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $161.83.

Electronic Arts Price Performance

Shares of EA opened at $153.30 on Thursday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $143.36 and its two-hundred day moving average is $144.90. The company has a market capitalization of $39.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.01, a P/E/G ratio of 3.58 and a beta of 0.74. Electronic Arts has a fifty-two week low of $115.21 and a fifty-two week high of $168.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a quick ratio of 1.38 and a current ratio of 1.38.

Electronic Arts (NASDAQ:EA) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The game software company reported $2.34 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.41 by ($1.07). Electronic Arts had a net margin of 14.28% and a return on equity of 17.80%. Research analysts predict that Electronic Arts will post 4.71 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Laura Miele sold 2,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $155.57, for a total value of $388,925.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 40,189 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,252,202.73. The trade was a 5.86 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Andrew Wilson sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $130.14, for a total transaction of $650,700.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 37,615 shares in the company, valued at $4,895,216.10. The trade was a 11.73 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 22,000 shares of company stock valued at $3,118,120 over the last quarter. 0.22% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Electronic Arts

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Electronic Arts by 62.7% in the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 3,253,505 shares of the game software company’s stock valued at $470,197,000 after buying an additional 1,254,194 shares during the period. ING Groep NV increased its stake in Electronic Arts by 3,477.8% during the first quarter. ING Groep NV now owns 1,163,747 shares of the game software company’s stock worth $168,185,000 after purchasing an additional 1,131,220 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its position in shares of Electronic Arts by 689.3% during the first quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 1,238,496 shares of the game software company’s stock worth $178,987,000 after purchasing an additional 1,081,589 shares in the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its position in shares of Electronic Arts by 1,366.6% during the first quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 1,118,685 shares of the game software company’s stock worth $161,672,000 after purchasing an additional 1,042,407 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Los Angeles Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Electronic Arts by 353.4% in the fourth quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 1,269,258 shares of the game software company’s stock valued at $185,692,000 after purchasing an additional 989,319 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.23% of the company’s stock.

Electronic Arts Company Profile

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.