Insider Selling: IMAX (NYSE:IMAX) CEO Sells $7,713,903.00 in Stock

IMAX Corporation (NYSE:IMAX) CEO Richard Gelfond sold 151,253 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $51.00, for a total transaction of $7,713,903.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 765,002 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $39,015,102. The trade was a 16.51% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan.

IMAX Stock Performance

Shares of IMAX stock opened at $52.93 on Friday. IMAX Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $26.17 and a fifty-two week high of $54.50. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $44.65 and a 200 day moving average price of $40.15. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 73.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.74 and a beta of 0.38.

IMAX (NYSE:IMAX) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 23rd. The company reported $0.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.30 by $0.13. The company had revenue of $102.84 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $96.09 million. IMAX had a net margin of 9.84% and a return on equity of 15.47%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 12.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.26 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that IMAX Corporation will post 1.44 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On IMAX

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new position in IMAX in the second quarter valued at $115,881,000. Orbis Allan Gray Ltd lifted its holdings in IMAX by 31.7% during the 2nd quarter. Orbis Allan Gray Ltd now owns 5,113,033 shares of the company’s stock worth $142,960,000 after buying an additional 1,230,267 shares during the last quarter. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP boosted its position in shares of IMAX by 44.6% during the 4th quarter. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP now owns 2,346,486 shares of the company’s stock worth $86,726,000 after acquiring an additional 723,861 shares in the last quarter. Nantahala Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of IMAX during the 2nd quarter worth about $26,228,239,000. Finally, Marsico Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of IMAX in the 4th quarter valued at about $18,149,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.51% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently commented on IMAX shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on IMAX from $47.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, July 24th. Wall Street Zen lowered IMAX from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $42.00 price objective on shares of IMAX in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on IMAX from $41.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, July 24th. Finally, Rosenblatt Securities restated a “buy” rating and set a $60.00 target price on shares of IMAX in a research note on Wednesday. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $51.55.

Key Headlines Impacting IMAX

Here are the key news stories impacting IMAX this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Rosenblatt Securities reiterated a Buy rating and established a $60 price target, signaling continued confidence in IMAX’s growth prospects and potential upside. Rosenblatt reiterates Buy rating
• Positive Sentiment: The Odyssey has reportedly surpassed $1.29 billion globally and become IMAX’s biggest release ever. The result highlights strong audience demand for IMAX presentations and could support additional box-office-related revenue and future studio partnerships. The Odyssey becomes IMAX’s biggest release
• Positive Sentiment: Demand for Dune: Part Three appears strong, with early 70mm IMAX screenings nearly selling out and reports of heavy ticket demand. This points to potentially robust attendance and premium-ticket economics for upcoming releases. Dune IMAX 70mm screenings nearly sell out
• Neutral Sentiment: IMAX amended Chief Legal Officer and Senior Executive Vice President Robert D. Lister’s employment agreement on August 19. The update may provide management continuity, but no major financial or strategic change was disclosed. IMAX extends chief legal officer agreement
• Negative Sentiment: CEO Richard Gelfond sold a combined 456,757 shares from August 18–20 for approximately $24 million, reducing his direct ownership by a sizable amount. The transactions were made under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plan, which lessens concerns about a sudden loss of confidence, but the selling could still pressure sentiment while IMAX trades at an elevated valuation. SEC insider trading filing

IMAX Company Profile

IMAX Corporation is a global leader in immersive entertainment technologies, specializing in the design, manufacture and distribution of high-resolution cameras, projectors, and proprietary software solutions that enhance both film production and theatrical exhibition. The company licenses its premium large-format system to theatre owners and filmmakers around the world, enabling audiences to experience movies with greater clarity, scale and sound fidelity. IMAX also offers turnkey theatre development services, assisting cinema operators with auditorium design, installation and custom branding to optimize the customer experience.

Founded in 1967 and headquartered in Mississauga, Ontario, IMAX has built a reputation for pioneering film-format innovations, including its patented dual 15-perforation, 70-millimeter projection system.