Lionsgate Studios Sees Unusually High Options Volume (NYSE:LION)

Lionsgate Studios Corp. (NYSE:LION) saw some unusual options trading activity on Thursday. Stock traders purchased 11,829 call options on the stock. This represents an increase of approximately 202% compared to the typical volume of 3,913 call options.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Lionsgate Studios

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Virtu Financial LLC purchased a new position in shares of Lionsgate Studios during the 4th quarter worth approximately $294,000. Corient Private Wealth LLC boosted its stake in shares of Lionsgate Studios by 103.4% in the fourth quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 33,588 shares of the company’s stock valued at $307,000 after buying an additional 17,076 shares in the last quarter. Alberta Investment Management Corp purchased a new stake in shares of Lionsgate Studios in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $913,000. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV acquired a new position in Lionsgate Studios during the fourth quarter worth $140,000. Finally, XTX Topco Ltd acquired a new position in Lionsgate Studios during the fourth quarter worth $264,000.

Lionsgate Studios Stock Performance

Shares of Lionsgate Studios stock opened at $9.64 on Friday. Lionsgate Studios has a one year low of $5.55 and a one year high of $11.02. The company has a market cap of $2.80 billion, a P/E ratio of -11.34 and a beta of -0.48. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $9.25 and a two-hundred day moving average of $8.09.

Lionsgate Studios (NYSE:LION) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 5th. The company reported ($0.07) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.02) by ($0.05). The firm had revenue of $724.30 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $706.03 million. As a group, equities analysts predict that Lionsgate Studios will post 0.08 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently commented on LION. Citigroup lifted their target price on Lionsgate Studios from $9.00 to $11.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, March 23rd. Benchmark raised their price target on Lionsgate Studios from $11.00 to $12.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 3rd. Barrington Research reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $11.50 price target on shares of Lionsgate Studios in a research report on Friday, February 6th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Lionsgate Studios in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. Finally, Zacks Research raised Lionsgate Studios from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, January 5th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have given a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $10.05.

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.