Light & Wonder (NASDAQ:LNW) Stock Price Down 6.5% Following Analyst Downgrade

Light & Wonder, Inc. (NASDAQ:LNW)’s stock price fell 6.5% during mid-day trading on Thursday after Mizuho lowered their price target on the stock from $83.00 to $79.00. Mizuho currently has an underperform rating on the stock. Light & Wonder traded as low as $89.79 and last traded at $90.22. 681,850 shares were traded during trading, an increase of 18% from the average session volume of 579,045 shares. The stock had previously closed at $96.52.

A number of other research firms have also weighed in on LNW. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Light & Wonder from $98.00 to $107.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 28th. Benchmark began coverage on shares of Light & Wonder in a research note on Tuesday, January 16th. They set a “buy” rating and a $92.00 price target for the company. Redburn Atlantic cut Light & Wonder from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $105.00 to $110.00 in a research note on Monday, March 11th. Susquehanna increased their price target on Light & Wonder from $100.00 to $111.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 28th. Finally, Truist Financial raised their price target on Light & Wonder from $90.00 to $115.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 28th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $96.42.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP James Sottile sold 1,549 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $101.15, for a total transaction of $156,681.35. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 57,478 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,813,899.70. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other Light & Wonder news, CEO Siobhan Lane sold 3,566 shares of Light & Wonder stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $100.73, for a total transaction of $359,203.18. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 11,302 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,138,450.46. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, VP James Sottile sold 1,549 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $101.15, for a total value of $156,681.35. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 57,478 shares in the company, valued at $5,813,899.70. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 7,537 shares of company stock worth $760,427 in the last 90 days. 2.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Light & Wonder

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. SG Americas Securities LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Light & Wonder by 30.8% in the 3rd quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 2,256 shares of the company’s stock valued at $161,000 after buying an additional 531 shares during the period. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank boosted its position in Light & Wonder by 21.1% in the 3rd quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 14,784 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,055,000 after purchasing an additional 2,575 shares in the last quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas grew its stake in shares of Light & Wonder by 0.7% during the 3rd quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 73,803 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,264,000 after purchasing an additional 525 shares during the period. Duality Advisers LP purchased a new position in shares of Light & Wonder during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $565,000. Finally, Arizona State Retirement System lifted its stake in shares of Light & Wonder by 1.5% in the 3rd quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 25,944 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,851,000 after purchasing an additional 384 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 88.08% of the company’s stock.

Light & Wonder Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.04, a current ratio of 1.88 and a quick ratio of 1.63. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $97.69 and its 200-day moving average is $88.39. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.24 billion, a PE ratio of 51.30 and a beta of 1.80.

Light & Wonder (NASDAQ:LNW) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 27th. The company reported $0.73 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.76 by ($0.03). The business had revenue of $770.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $748.30 million. Light & Wonder had a net margin of 5.58% and a return on equity of 23.68%. Light & Wonder’s revenue was up 12.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.12 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that Light & Wonder, Inc. will post 3.79 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Light & Wonder Company Profile

Light & Wonder, Inc operates as a cross-platform games company in the United States and internationally. The company operates through three segments: Gaming, SciPlay, and iGaming segments. The Gaming segment sells game content and gaming machine; video gaming terminals; video lottery terminals, including conversion kits and spare parts; and table products, including automatic card shufflers, deck checkers, table roulette chip sorters and other land-based table gaming equipment.