Traders Buy High Volume of Call Options on Electronic Arts (NASDAQ:EA)

Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ:EA) was the target of unusually large options trading on Friday. Investors bought 34,611 call options on the stock. This is an increase of approximately 589% compared to the typical daily volume of 5,021 call options.

Insider Transactions at Electronic Arts

In other news, CEO Andrew Wilson sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $166.47, for a total value of $832,350.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 52,615 shares in the company, valued at $8,758,819.05. This represents a 8.68 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Laura Miele sold 2,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $158.03, for a total transaction of $395,075.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 50,433 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,969,926.99. This trade represents a 4.72 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 25,000 shares of company stock valued at $3,835,555 in the last quarter. 0.22% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Electronic Arts

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of EA. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Electronic Arts during the 3rd quarter valued at about $25,000. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. grew its position in Electronic Arts by 141.0% in the fourth quarter. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. now owns 200 shares of the game software company’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 117 shares in the last quarter. Reston Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Electronic Arts in the third quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC raised its stake in shares of Electronic Arts by 156.6% during the third quarter. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC now owns 272 shares of the game software company’s stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 166 shares during the period. Finally, Larson Financial Group LLC lifted its position in shares of Electronic Arts by 31.8% during the third quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 290 shares of the game software company’s stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 70 shares in the last quarter. 90.23% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Electronic Arts Trading Up 3.6 %

EA traded up $4.23 on Friday, reaching $122.91. 6,589,228 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,085,204. Electronic Arts has a twelve month low of $115.21 and a twelve month high of $168.50. The company’s 50 day moving average is $148.54 and its 200-day moving average is $148.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a quick ratio of 1.43 and a current ratio of 1.43. The company has a market cap of $32.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.60, a PEG ratio of 2.38 and a beta of 0.80.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently commented on EA. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price objective on Electronic Arts from $167.00 to $159.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Bank of America downgraded shares of Electronic Arts from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their price target for the stock from $170.00 to $130.00 in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. BMO Capital Markets downgraded shares of Electronic Arts from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $160.00 to $145.00 in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Oppenheimer lowered their target price on shares of Electronic Arts from $170.00 to $165.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on Electronic Arts from $155.00 to $150.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Electronic Arts currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $157.43.

Electronic Arts Company Profile

Electronic Arts Inc develops, markets, publishes, and distributes games, content, and services for game consoles, PCs, mobile phones, and tablets worldwide. It develops and publishes games and services across various genres, such as sports, racing, first-person shooter, action, role-playing, and simulation primarily under the Battlefield, The Sims, Apex Legends, Need for Speed, and license games from others, including FIFA, Madden NFL, UFC, and Star Wars brands.