Lionsgate Studios (NYSE:LION) Shares Up 11.6% – Should You Buy?

Shares of Lionsgate Studios Corp. (NYSE:LION) rose 11.6% during mid-day trading on Friday . The company 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 Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the company. Benchmark boosted their price target on Lionsgate Studios from $11.00 to $12.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Lionsgate Studios from $9.00 to $12.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 30th. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $11.00 target price 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 research report on Saturday, February 14th. Finally, Barrington Research reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $11.50 price objective on shares of Lionsgate Studios in a report on Friday, February 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have given a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $9.86.

Lionsgate Studios Stock Up 9.2%

The firm has a market capitalization of $2.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -10.60 and a beta of -0.48. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $8.97 and its 200 day moving average is $7.53.

Lionsgate Studios (NYSE:LION) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 5th. The company reported ($0.07) earnings per share (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 analysts’ expectations of $706.03 million. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Lionsgate Studios Corp. will post 0.08 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Michael Raymond Burns sold 21,748 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $9.01, for a total transaction of $195,949.48. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 3,061,213 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $27,581,529.13. This represents a 0.71% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 32.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Lionsgate Studios

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Liberty 77 Capital L.P. purchased a new position in shares of Lionsgate Studios in the second quarter worth approximately $214,831,000. Anson Funds Management LP grew its position in Lionsgate Studios by 36.3% during the 4th quarter. Anson Funds Management LP now owns 9,556,948 shares of the company’s stock worth $87,255,000 after purchasing an additional 2,543,352 shares in the last quarter. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. grew its position in Lionsgate Studios by 251.0% during the 2nd quarter. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. now owns 5,805,850 shares of the company’s stock worth $33,732,000 after purchasing an additional 4,151,822 shares in the last quarter. Jericho Capital Asset Management L.P. acquired a new stake in Lionsgate Studios during the 4th quarter valued at $51,119,000. Finally, Broad Bay Capital Management LP raised its stake in Lionsgate Studios by 38.7% during the 4th quarter. Broad Bay Capital Management LP now owns 5,168,008 shares of the company’s stock valued at $47,184,000 after purchasing an additional 1,441,700 shares during the period.

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.