Mattel (NASDAQ:MAT) Stock Crosses Above 200-Day Moving Average – Here’s Why

Mattel, Inc. (NASDAQ:MAT)’s stock price passed above its 200-day moving average during trading on Wednesday. The stock has a 200-day moving average of $15.44 and traded as high as $15.79. Mattel shares last traded at $15.57, with a volume of 6,213,932 shares changing hands.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MAT has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Mattel from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 11th. Citigroup upped their price target on shares of Mattel from $15.00 to $17.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 13th. Argus reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $22.00 price target on shares of Mattel in a research report on Tuesday, August 25th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered shares of Mattel from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and decreased their price target for the company from $15.00 to $12.00 in a report on Thursday, July 9th. Finally, Seaport Research Partners raised Mattel from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $20.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Monday, October 12th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $18.00.

Mattel Stock Performance

The company has a current ratio of 1.90, a quick ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $15.02 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $15.44. The company has a market cap of $4.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 0.59.

Mattel (NASDAQ:MAT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The company reported $0.01 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.04 by ($0.03). The company had revenue of $1.13 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.10 billion. Mattel had a net margin of 7.79% and a return on equity of 16.20%. Mattel’s quarterly revenue was up 10.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.19 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Mattel, Inc. will post 1.30 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Roberto Isaias sold 39,083 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $15.02, for a total value of $587,026.66. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 144,390 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,168,737.80. This trade represents a 21.30% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 1.90% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Mattel

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of MAT. Primecap Management Co. CA acquired a new position in shares of Mattel in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $409,540,000. BlackRock Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Mattel in the second quarter valued at about $363,273,000. Bank of America Corp DE acquired a new position in Mattel during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $33,498,000. EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Mattel by 3.8% during the 1st quarter. EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. now owns 49,140,882 shares of the company’s stock worth $714,017,000 after buying an additional 1,799,640 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new stake in shares of Mattel in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $23,393,000. 97.15% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Mattel

Mattel, Inc is a global toy and entertainment company that designs, manufactures and markets a broad portfolio of toys, games and consumer products. Its best-known brands include Barbie, Hot Wheels, Fisher-Price, American Girl, Matchbox, UNO, Masters of the Universe and Thomas & Friends. Mattel also develops entertainment content and licenses its intellectual property for use in consumer products, digital experiences and other media.

Founded in 1945, Mattel has expanded from a U.S.