Short Interest in Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ:EA) Expands By 73.3%

Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ:EA) was the recipient of a significant growth in short interest in December. As of December 15th, there was short interest totaling 6,539,048 shares, a growth of 73.3% from the November 30th total of 3,773,450 shares. Approximately 2.6% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 2,182,106 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 3.0 days. Based on an average daily volume of 2,182,106 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 3.0 days. Approximately 2.6% of the shares of the company are sold short.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on EA shares. Argus set a $210.00 price target on Electronic Arts in a report on Thursday, October 30th. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on shares of Electronic Arts from $166.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 30th. Benchmark restated a “buy” rating on shares of Electronic Arts in a research report on Wednesday, October 29th. TD Cowen downgraded Electronic Arts from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 1st. Finally, Wedbush reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $200.00 target price on shares of Electronic Arts in a report on Monday, September 29th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twenty-six have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $181.21.

Electronic Arts Stock Performance

Shares of EA stock traded up $0.13 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $204.40. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 77,738 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,297,896. The business has a fifty day moving average of $202.20 and a 200-day moving average of $180.87. The company has a current ratio of 0.84, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25. Electronic Arts has a 52 week low of $115.21 and a 52 week high of $204.84. The company has a market cap of $51.12 billion, a PE ratio of 59.77, a P/E/G ratio of 2.42 and a beta of 0.76.

Electronic Arts (NASDAQ:EA) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 28th. The game software company reported $0.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.72 by ($0.07). The firm had revenue of $1.84 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.88 billion. Electronic Arts had a return on equity of 15.30% and a net margin of 12.14%.Electronic Arts’s revenue for the quarter was down 12.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.11 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Electronic Arts will post 4.71 earnings per share for the current year.

Electronic Arts Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 23rd. Investors of record on Wednesday, December 3rd were given a dividend of $0.19 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, December 3rd. This represents a $0.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.4%. Electronic Arts’s dividend payout ratio is currently 22.22%.

Insider Activity at Electronic Arts

In other news, CEO Andrew Wilson sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $204.11, for a total transaction of $1,020,550.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 43,858 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,951,856.38. The trade was a 10.23% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Laura Miele sold 2,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $204.11, for a total value of $510,275.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 53,148 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,848,038.28. This trade represents a 4.49% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 124,969 shares of company stock worth $25,155,156. 0.24% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Electronic Arts

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norden Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Electronic Arts during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $214,000. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC grew its position in Electronic Arts by 34.8% during the second quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC now owns 40,483 shares of the game software company’s stock worth $6,467,000 after buying an additional 10,453 shares in the last quarter. Focus Partners Advisor Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in Electronic Arts during the first quarter worth about $319,000. Vest Financial LLC raised its stake in Electronic Arts by 5.7% during the second quarter. Vest Financial LLC now owns 278,069 shares of the game software company’s stock worth $44,408,000 after acquiring an additional 15,032 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Alta Advisers Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Electronic Arts during the second quarter worth $205,000. Institutional investors own 90.23% of the company’s stock.

Electronic Arts Company Profile

Electronic Arts Inc (NASDAQ: EA) is a global interactive entertainment company headquartered in Redwood City, California. Founded in 1982 by Trip Hawkins, EA develops, publishes and distributes video games and related content for a variety of platforms, including consoles, personal computers and mobile devices. The company combines in-house development, partnerships and studio acquisitions to create and maintain a portfolio of entertainment properties and live-service experiences for players worldwide.

EA’s product lineup spans several well-known franchises and genres.