UBS Group AG Lowers Stake in IMAX Corporation $IMAX

UBS Group AG lowered its position in shares of IMAX Corporation (NYSE:IMAX) by 64.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 98,888 shares of the company’s stock after selling 181,049 shares during the quarter. UBS Group AG’s holdings in IMAX were worth $3,655,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in IMAX. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of IMAX by 47.9% during the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 56,348 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,485,000 after acquiring an additional 18,238 shares during the period. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. lifted its position in IMAX by 4.5% in the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 25,486 shares of the company’s stock valued at $672,000 after purchasing an additional 1,091 shares during the period. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC increased its position in IMAX by 7.9% during the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 159,714 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,208,000 after purchasing an additional 11,736 shares during the period. Creative Planning increased its position in IMAX by 84.1% during the 2nd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 16,081 shares of the company’s stock worth $450,000 after purchasing an additional 7,344 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of IMAX during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $709,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.51% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently commented on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reissued a “market perform” rating and issued a $60.00 price target on shares of IMAX in a report on Friday. Benchmark upped their price objective on IMAX from $44.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday. Weiss Ratings cut IMAX from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Friday. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on IMAX from $37.00 to $41.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, March 2nd. Finally, Wedbush reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $46.00 price objective on shares of IMAX in a research report on Thursday, April 23rd. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $48.00.

Insider Transactions at IMAX

In other IMAX news, insider Kevin Douglas sold 330,200 shares of IMAX stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $37.82, for a total transaction of $12,488,164.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 3,657,450 shares in the company, valued at approximately $138,324,759. The trade was a 8.28% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Richard L. Gelfond sold 135,046 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $37.82, for a total transaction of $5,107,439.72. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 765,002 shares in the company, valued at $28,932,375.64. This represents a 15.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 1,054,284 shares of company stock valued at $40,062,532. 20.55% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

IMAX Trading Up 15.5%

Shares of IMAX opened at $39.14 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $2.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 60.21, a PEG ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 0.37. The company has a 50-day moving average of $36.79 and a two-hundred day moving average of $36.71. IMAX Corporation has a 12-month low of $24.20 and a 12-month high of $43.16.

IMAX (NYSE:IMAX) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The company reported $0.17 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.15 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $81.38 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $79.82 million. IMAX had a net margin of 9.08% and a return on equity of 13.61%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 6.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.13 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that IMAX Corporation will post 1.34 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Key IMAX News

Here are the key news stories impacting IMAX this week:

• Positive Sentiment: IMAX is reportedly exploring a sale, and analysts say the company could draw interest from major entertainment and technology buyers, boosting takeover hopes. IMAX Is Exploring a Sale
• Positive Sentiment: News that IMAX has held early-stage discussions with potential suitors fueled a strong share move, even as reports emphasized that no formal deal process has been launched yet. IMAX is exploring sale, WSJ reports
• Positive Sentiment: Media coverage highlighted IMAX’s appeal as a premium cinema asset that has outperformed a weakening theater industry, reinforcing the idea that a strategic buyer could pay up. IMAX has bucked the trend as the movie-theater business fades
• Neutral Sentiment: Several entertainment outlets also reported the sale chatter and IMAX’s stock surge, but these stories mainly repeated the same early-stage speculation rather than confirming a transaction. Imax Stock Surges on Hollywood Takeover Talk
• Neutral Sentiment: Industry commentary suggested possible buyers could include Apple, Netflix, Amazon, or other media/tech players, but no bidder has been identified and a deal may never happen. Wall Street thinks IMAX is ripe for a sale. Here’s who could buy it

IMAX 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.