National CineMedia (NASDAQ:NCMI) Shares Gap Up – Should You Buy?

Shares of National CineMedia, Inc. (NASDAQ:NCMI) gapped up before the market opened on Thursday . The stock had previously closed at $5.53, but opened at $5.71. National CineMedia shares last traded at $5.94, with a volume of 61,488 shares changing hands.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on NCMI. Benchmark reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $8.00 target price on shares of National CineMedia in a research report on Friday, March 7th. StockNews.com upgraded National CineMedia from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Barrington Research restated an “outperform” rating and set a $7.00 price objective on shares of National CineMedia in a research note on Friday. William Blair restated a “neutral” rating and set a $7.50 price objective on shares of National CineMedia in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Finally, Wedbush upgraded National CineMedia from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $7.50 price objective on the stock in a research note on Friday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $7.70.

National CineMedia Trading Up 4.2 %

The stock has a market capitalization of $566.50 million, a P/E ratio of -23.80 and a beta of 2.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a quick ratio of 2.46 and a current ratio of 2.46. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $6.54 and a 200-day simple moving average of $6.75.

National CineMedia (NASDAQ:NCMI) last released its earnings results on Thursday, March 6th. The business services provider reported $0.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.20 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $86.30 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $84.77 million. National CineMedia had a negative return on equity of 2.61% and a negative net margin of 9.49%. On average, analysts predict that National CineMedia, Inc. will post -0.12 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Maria Vg Woods sold 23,742 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $6.51, for a total value of $154,560.42. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 66,987 shares in the company, valued at approximately $436,085.37. This represents a 26.17 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, major shareholder Blantyre Capital Ltd purchased 103,685 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 10th. The shares were bought at an average price of $5.18 per share, for a total transaction of $537,088.30. Following the acquisition, the insider now owns 10,310,433 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $53,408,042.94. The trade was a 1.02 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On National CineMedia

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of NCMI. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of National CineMedia by 16.2% in the third quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 56,277 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $397,000 after acquiring an additional 7,859 shares during the period. Intech Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of National CineMedia in the third quarter valued at $97,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of National CineMedia by 240.5% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 721,697 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $5,088,000 after buying an additional 509,756 shares in the last quarter. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd acquired a new stake in National CineMedia in the third quarter worth about $316,000. Finally, MetLife Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in National CineMedia in the third quarter worth about $292,000. 69.49% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About National CineMedia

National CineMedia, Inc, through its subsidiary, National CineMedia, LLC, operates cinema advertising network in North America. It engages in the sale of advertising to national, regional, and local businesses in Noovie, a cinema advertising and entertainment show seen on movie screens; and sells advertising on its Lobby Entertainment Network, a series of strategically-placed screens located in movie theater lobbies, as well as other forms of advertising and promotions in theatre lobbies.