Sony (NYSE:SONY) Reaches New 52-Week Low – Here’s Why

Sony Corporation (NYSE:SONY)’s stock price reached a new 52-week low during trading on Monday . The stock traded as low as $19.62 and last traded at $19.7430, with a volume of 1994224 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $20.33.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

Sony Trading Down 3.8%

The stock has a market cap of $115.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -97.82, a P/E/G ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 0.93. The business’s 50 day moving average is $21.32 and its 200 day moving average is $22.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10, a current ratio of 1.18 and a quick ratio of 0.94.

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

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Tsuyoshi Kodera sold 51,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.54, for a total value of $1,047,540.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 27,553 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $565,938.62. This represents a 64.92% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Kenichiro Yoshida sold 400,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $22.61, for a total transaction of $9,044,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 661,615 shares in the company, valued at $14,959,115.15. This represents a 37.68% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 468,500 shares of company stock worth $10,487,215 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 7.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Sony

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Rathbones Group PLC lifted its position in shares of Sony by 5.1% during the 1st quarter. Rathbones Group PLC now owns 206,337 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,271,000 after buying an additional 10,062 shares during the last quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Sony by 10.8% in the 1st quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 36,255 shares of the company’s stock valued at $750,000 after buying an additional 3,520 shares during the last quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC raised its stake in Sony by 10.2% during the 1st quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 72,116 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,493,000 after acquiring an additional 6,651 shares in the last quarter. Glenmede Trust Co. NA raised its stake in Sony by 25.3% during the 1st quarter. Glenmede Trust Co. NA now owns 67,834 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,404,000 after acquiring an additional 13,689 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Summitry LLC lifted its position in Sony by 5.4% in the first quarter. Summitry LLC now owns 21,420 shares of the company’s stock valued at $443,000 after acquiring an additional 1,102 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 14.05% of the company’s stock.

About Sony

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.