Brokerages Set Sony Corporation (NYSE:SONY) Target Price at $22.00

Shares of Sony Corporation (NYSE:SONY) have received an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the seven research firms that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, one has assigned a hold recommendation, four have issued a buy recommendation and one has issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 1-year target price among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $22.00.

SONY has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of Sony in a research note on Monday, August 17th. Benchmark reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Sony in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. Zacks Research raised Sony from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 4th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Sony from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, August 9th.

Key Stories Impacting Sony

Here are the key news stories impacting Sony this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Strategic alliance could expand Sony’s gaming and entertainment opportunities. Sony Music Entertainment Japan plans a capital and business alliance with GungHo Online Entertainment. The partnership may create new opportunities in games, music and intellectual property, though financial terms and the size of Sony’s investment were not disclosed. Sony Music Entertainment Japan and GungHo Online Entertainment alliance
• Positive Sentiment: New television products broaden Sony’s consumer-electronics lineup. The BRAVIA 6 OLED is positioned near the $1,300 price point, potentially helping Sony compete with midrange Samsung and LG models and reach a larger customer base. Reviews also praised the premium BRAVIA 9 II’s picture quality, supporting Sony’s brand positioning. Sony cheaper BRAVIA 6 OLED
• Positive Sentiment: PlayStation accessories and Xperia hardware continue to receive favorable attention. Sony launched a $349.99 27-inch PlayStation monitor with 240Hz support, while reviews praised the latest Xperia’s hardware. These products may reinforce Sony’s gaming and mobile ecosystems, although their direct earnings contribution is unclear. Sony PlayStation monitor launch
• Neutral Sentiment: Jermaine Dupri’s reported $18 million lawsuit was resolved without disclosed terms. Settlement removes some litigation uncertainty, but the lack of financial details prevents investors from assessing any material impact on Sony’s results. Jermaine Dupri lawsuit resolution
• Neutral Sentiment: Options activity became unusually bullish. Traders purchased 21,499 Sony call options, about 145% above typical volume. This may signal short-term optimism, but options positioning is speculative and does not establish a fundamental catalyst.
• Negative Sentiment: Premium pricing remains a concern for Xperia phones and high-end televisions. Coverage described Sony’s latest Xperia as capable but expensive, while the BRAVIA 9 II was considered excellent but not necessarily the best value. Higher prices could limit unit sales in competitive consumer markets. Sony Xperia pricing review

Insider Activity at Sony

In other Sony news, insider Ravi Ahuja sold 15,580 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $22.71, for a total transaction of $353,821.80. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 22,096 shares in the company, valued at $501,800.16. This trade represents a 41.35% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, insider Tsuyoshi Kodera sold 17,100 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $22.72, for a total value of $388,512.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 47,508 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,079,381.76. The trade was a 26.47% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 952,565 shares of company stock valued at $20,915,191. 7.00% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Sony

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Corient Private Wealth LP grew its holdings in Sony by 41.8% during the 2nd quarter. Corient Private Wealth LP now owns 256,726 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,150,000 after acquiring an additional 75,681 shares in the last quarter. Angeles Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Sony by 14.0% during the second quarter. Angeles Wealth Management LLC now owns 12,397 shares of the company’s stock worth $249,000 after purchasing an additional 1,525 shares during the last quarter. XY Capital Ltd bought a new position in shares of Sony during the second quarter worth about $10,246,000. Syon Capital LLC grew its stake in Sony by 52.8% in the second quarter. Syon Capital LLC now owns 52,503 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,053,000 after purchasing an additional 18,136 shares in the last quarter. Finally, TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. increased its holdings in Sony by 10.6% in the second quarter. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. now owns 471,304 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,530,000 after buying an additional 44,980 shares during the last quarter. 14.05% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Sony Trading Down 0.1%

SONY stock opened at $24.83 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.97, a current ratio of 1.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11. The company has a market cap of $146.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.17, a PEG ratio of 1.79 and a beta of 0.92. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $22.04 and a 200-day simple moving average of $21.64. Sony has a 52 week low of $19.32 and a 52 week high of $30.34.

Sony (NYSE:SONY) last issued its earnings results on Saturday, August 1st. The company reported $0.36 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.28 by $0.08. The firm had revenue of $17.45 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $17.17 billion. Sony had a positive return on equity of 13.06% and a negative net margin of 2.00%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $42.84 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that Sony will post 1.41 EPS for the current year.

About Sony

Sony Group Corporation (NYSE: SONY) is a Japanese multinational conglomerate headquartered in Minato, Tokyo. Founded in 1946 by Masaru Ibuka and Akio Morita, Sony has grown from an electronics maker into a diversified global company with operations spanning consumer electronics, entertainment, gaming, semiconductors and financial services. The company’s shares trade in Japan and its American Depositary Receipts trade on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker SONY.

Sony’s primary businesses include Electronics Products & Solutions, which covers televisions, audio equipment, digital cameras and professional broadcast systems; Game & Network Services, anchored by the PlayStation platform, consoles, software and online services; Music and Pictures, through Sony Music Entertainment and Sony Pictures Entertainment, producing, distributing and licensing recorded music, film and television content; Imaging & Sensing Solutions, which develops CMOS image sensors and other semiconductor components; and Financial Services, offering life insurance, banking and other financial products in Japan.