Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ:EA) Sees Large Increase in Short Interest

Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ:EA) was the target of a large increase in short interest during the month of December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totaling 8,175,137 shares, an increase of 25.0% from the December 15th total of 6,539,048 shares. Currently, 3.3% of the shares of the stock are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 1,618,196 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 5.1 days. Based on an average trading volume of 1,618,196 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 5.1 days. Currently, 3.3% of the shares of the stock are sold short.

Insider Buying and Selling at Electronic Arts

In related news, Director Jeff Huber sold 16,788 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $200.72, for a total transaction of $3,369,687.36. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 1,980 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $397,425.60. This trade represents a 89.45% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Vijayanthimala Singh sold 1,200 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $204.30, for a total value of $245,160.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 32,360 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,611,148. This represents a 3.58% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 123,769 shares of company stock worth $24,943,734 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Electronic Arts

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in EA. Salomon & Ludwin LLC increased its holdings in Electronic Arts by 70.1% during the 2nd quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC now owns 165 shares of the game software company’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 68 shares in the last quarter. Ameriflex Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Electronic Arts by 100.0% during the third quarter. Ameriflex Group Inc. now owns 138 shares of the game software company’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 69 shares during the period. MTM Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Electronic Arts during the second quarter worth about $30,000. Oakworth Capital Inc. acquired a new stake in Electronic Arts in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Finally, Frazier Financial Advisors LLC raised its position in Electronic Arts by 328.9% in the 2nd quarter. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC now owns 193 shares of the game software company’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 148 shares during the last quarter. 90.23% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Electronic Arts Trading Up 0.0%

Shares of EA stock traded up $0.10 on Monday, hitting $204.25. The stock had a trading volume of 2,067,845 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,524,525. The company has a current ratio of 0.84, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25. Electronic Arts has a twelve month low of $115.21 and a twelve month high of $204.88. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $203.28 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $185.78. The firm has a market cap of $51.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 59.72, a PEG ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 0.73.

Electronic Arts (NASDAQ:EA) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, October 28th. The game software company reported $0.65 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.72 by ($0.07). The business had revenue of $1.84 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.88 billion. Electronic Arts had a return on equity of 15.30% and a net margin of 12.14%.The business’s revenue was down 12.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.11 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that Electronic Arts will post 4.71 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Electronic Arts Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 23rd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, December 3rd were paid a $0.19 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, December 3rd. This represents a $0.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.4%. Electronic Arts’s payout ratio is presently 22.22%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently commented on EA shares. UBS Group set a $210.00 price objective on Electronic Arts and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 30th. Cowen downgraded shares of Electronic Arts from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 1st. TD Cowen cut shares of Electronic Arts from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 1st. HSBC cut shares of Electronic Arts from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $191.00 target price for the company. in a research report on Monday, September 29th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Electronic Arts in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twenty-six have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $181.21.

Electronic Arts Company Profile

Electronic Arts Inc (NASDAQ: EA) is a global interactive entertainment company headquartered in Redwood City, California. Founded in 1982 by Trip Hawkins, EA develops, publishes and distributes video games and related content for a variety of platforms, including consoles, personal computers and mobile devices. The company combines in-house development, partnerships and studio acquisitions to create and maintain a portfolio of entertainment properties and live-service experiences for players worldwide.

EA’s product lineup spans several well-known franchises and genres.