Jonathan Jose Platt Sells 16,512 Shares of Sony (NYSE:SONY) Stock

Sony Corporation (NYSE:SONY) insider Jonathan Jose Platt sold 16,512 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $21.08, for a total transaction of $348,072.96. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 83,326 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,756,512.08. This represents a 16.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link.

Sony Stock Down 1.0%

Shares of SONY stock traded down $0.21 on Wednesday, reaching $21.18. 4,897,117 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,300,646. The company has a current ratio of 1.18, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $21.12 and its 200 day moving average price is $22.05. The company has a market capitalization of $125.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -105.92, a PEG ratio of 1.68 and a beta of 0.94. Sony Corporation has a twelve month low of $19.32 and a twelve month high of $30.34.

Sony (NYSE:SONY) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, May 8th. The company reported $0.09 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.22 by ($0.13). The business had revenue of $19.15 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $18.43 billion. Sony had a negative net margin of 2.61% and a positive return on equity of 12.20%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 8.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $32.86 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Sony Corporation will post 1.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Key Sony News

Here are the key news stories impacting Sony this week:

• Negative Sentiment: Sony CEO Hiroki Totoki sold 225,000 shares, and another insider sale by Toshimoto Mitomo adds to investor concerns about management confidence. Just Days After PlayStation Killed Physical Games, Sony President and CEO Hiroki Totoki Sold $4.7M in Stock
• Negative Sentiment: Jermaine Dupri’s $18 million lawsuit against Sony Music over alleged unpaid royalties creates legal uncertainty and could pressure the company’s entertainment business if the dispute escalates. Jermaine Dupri Files $18 Million Breach of Contract Suit Against Sony Over Alleged Unpaid Royalties
• Negative Sentiment: Continued backlash over Sony’s reported decision to phase out PlayStation discs is adding to concerns about the company’s gaming strategy and consumer reaction. Analyst Has Bad News About Sony Ending PlayStation Disc Production
• Neutral Sentiment: Sony is also getting product attention around new TVs and discounted headphones, but these stories are not major stock drivers compared with the insider sales and lawsuit headlines. I spent a week with Sony’s $3,500 Bravia TV – the True RGB display is the real deal

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Sanford C. Bernstein restated a “market perform” rating and set a $22.00 target price (down from $30.00) on shares of Sony in a research note on Tuesday, March 17th. Benchmark reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Sony in a report on Monday, May 11th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of Sony in a research report on Wednesday, May 20th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Sony presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $22.00.

Institutional Trading of Sony

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. YANKCOM Partnership boosted its position in shares of Sony by 748.7% in the 4th quarter. YANKCOM Partnership now owns 976 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 861 shares during the period. Ameriflex Group Inc. lifted its stake in Sony by 304.0% in the third quarter. Ameriflex Group Inc. now owns 1,010 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 760 shares during the last quarter. Binnacle Investments Inc lifted its stake in Sony by 81.7% in the third quarter. Binnacle Investments Inc now owns 1,032 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 464 shares during the last quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Sony in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Finally, Elyxium Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of Sony during the fourth quarter worth approximately $27,000. 14.05% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Sony Company Profile

Sony Group Corporation (NYSE: SONY) is a Japanese multinational conglomerate headquartered in Minato, Tokyo. Founded in 1946 by Masaru Ibuka and Akio Morita, Sony has grown from an electronics maker into a diversified global company with operations spanning consumer electronics, entertainment, gaming, semiconductors and financial services. The company’s shares trade in Japan and its American Depositary Receipts trade on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker SONY.

Sony’s primary businesses include Electronics Products & Solutions, which covers televisions, audio equipment, digital cameras and professional broadcast systems; Game & Network Services, anchored by the PlayStation platform, consoles, software and online services; Music and Pictures, through Sony Music Entertainment and Sony Pictures Entertainment, producing, distributing and licensing recorded music, film and television content; Imaging & Sensing Solutions, which develops CMOS image sensors and other semiconductor components; and Financial Services, offering life insurance, banking and other financial products in Japan.