Lionsgate Studios (NYSE:LION) Shares Up 11.6% – Should You Buy?

Shares of Lionsgate Studios Corp. (NYSE:LION) shot up 11.6% on Friday . The company traded as high as $9.27 and last traded at $9.21. 1,756,656 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 29% from the average session volume of 2,468,473 shares. The stock had previously closed at $8.25.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have commented on LION. Zacks Research upgraded Lionsgate Studios from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, January 5th. Barrington Research reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $11.50 price target on shares of Lionsgate Studios in a research report on Friday, February 6th. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $11.00 price objective on shares of Lionsgate Studios in a research note on Friday, February 6th. Benchmark increased their target price on shares of Lionsgate Studios from $11.00 to $12.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 3rd. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Lionsgate Studios from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, February 14th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have assigned a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $9.86.

Lionsgate Studios Price Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $2.61 billion, a P/E ratio of -10.60 and a beta of -0.48. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $8.97 and its 200-day moving average is $7.53.

Lionsgate Studios (NYSE:LION) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 5th. The company reported ($0.07) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.02) by ($0.05). The business had revenue of $724.30 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $706.03 million. On average, research analysts expect that Lionsgate Studios Corp. will post 0.08 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Lionsgate Studios news, insider Michael Raymond Burns sold 21,748 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $9.01, for a total transaction of $195,949.48. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 3,061,213 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $27,581,529.13. This represents a 0.71% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 32.10% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Lionsgate Studios

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of LION. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Lionsgate Studios by 99.3% during the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 3,559 shares of the company’s stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 1,773 shares during the period. Bessemer Group Inc. acquired a new stake in Lionsgate Studios in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd bought a new position in Lionsgate Studios in the 4th quarter worth approximately $44,000. Osaic Holdings Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Lionsgate Studios by 4,852.0% during the second quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 4,952 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 4,852 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Lionsgate Studios during the third quarter worth approximately $38,000.

About Lionsgate Studios

Lionsgate Studios, operating under the ticker NYSE:LION, is a leading global entertainment company specializing in the production, acquisition and distribution of motion pictures, television programming and digital content. Headquartered in Santa Monica, California, and with additional operations in Vancouver, the company develops, finances and markets feature films that span a wide range of genres—from major franchise hits like The Hunger Games and John Wick to independent and specialty titles.