Electronic Arts Sees Unusually Large Options Volume (NASDAQ:EA)

Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ:EA) was the target of unusually large options trading activity on Monday. Stock investors acquired 7,942 call options on the stock. This represents an increase of approximately 32% compared to the average daily volume of 6,011 call options.

Insider Transactions at Electronic Arts

In other news, insider Vijayanthimala Singh sold 800 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $139.71, for a total transaction of $111,768.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 38,574 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,389,173.54. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, insider Vijayanthimala Singh sold 800 shares of Electronic Arts stock in a transaction on Monday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $139.71, for a total value of $111,768.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 38,574 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,389,173.54. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Jacob J. Schatz sold 1,000 shares of Electronic Arts stock in a transaction on Monday, July 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $144.86, for a total transaction of $144,860.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 29,317 shares in the company, valued at $4,246,860.62. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 28,570 shares of company stock worth $4,183,508. 0.22% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in Electronic Arts by 14.7% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 29,159,718 shares of the game software company’s stock valued at $3,868,620,000 after purchasing an additional 3,727,251 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its position in shares of Electronic Arts by 496.9% in the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 2,511,250 shares of the game software company’s stock valued at $333,169,000 after buying an additional 2,090,504 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Electronic Arts during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $281,054,000. Swedbank AB acquired a new stake in Electronic Arts during the first quarter worth approximately $201,935,000. Finally, Jericho Capital Asset Management L.P. acquired a new stake in Electronic Arts during the first quarter worth approximately $189,055,000. 90.23% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Electronic Arts Stock Performance

NASDAQ:EA opened at $142.59 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.45, a current ratio of 1.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25. Electronic Arts has a fifty-two week low of $117.47 and a fifty-two week high of $153.51. The stock has a market cap of $37.89 billion, a PE ratio of 30.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.97 and a beta of 0.79. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $146.40 and its 200-day simple moving average is $137.65.

Electronic Arts (NASDAQ:EA) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The game software company reported $0.09 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.03 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $1.26 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.21 billion. Electronic Arts had a net margin of 15.77% and a return on equity of 16.34%. Analysts expect that Electronic Arts will post 5.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Electronic Arts Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 18th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, August 28th will be given a $0.19 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, August 28th. This represents a $0.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.53%. Electronic Arts’s dividend payout ratio is presently 16.24%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on EA shares. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on shares of Electronic Arts from $165.00 to $167.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Bank of America boosted their price objective on shares of Electronic Arts from $150.00 to $170.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. TD Cowen boosted their price objective on shares of Electronic Arts from $163.00 to $183.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. BMO Capital Markets reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $154.00 price objective on shares of Electronic Arts in a research note on Tuesday, July 30th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on shares of Electronic Arts in a research note on Thursday, July 11th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $165.00 price objective on the stock. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $161.28.

About Electronic Arts

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.