Benchmark Reiterates “Buy” Rating for IMAX (NYSE:IMAX)

IMAX (NYSE:IMAX)‘s stock had its “buy” rating restated by equities researchers at Benchmark in a research note issued to investors on Friday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a $30.00 price target on the stock. Benchmark’s price target would indicate a potential upside of 29.27% from the stock’s previous close.

A number of other research firms also recently issued reports on IMAX. Wedbush restated an “outperform” rating on shares of IMAX in a research note on Wednesday, November 27th. StockNews.com cut shares of IMAX from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of IMAX from $20.00 to $21.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, October 14th. Roth Mkm boosted their price objective on shares of IMAX from $27.00 to $28.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Barrington Research restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $30.00 price objective on shares of IMAX in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $28.13.

IMAX Stock Up 3.6 %

IMAX opened at $23.21 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 52.74, a PEG ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 1.24. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $24.88 and a 200-day moving average price of $21.87. IMAX has a twelve month low of $13.20 and a twelve month high of $26.84.

IMAX (NYSE:IMAX) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The company reported $0.35 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.23 by $0.12. IMAX had a return on equity of 7.53% and a net margin of 6.74%. The firm had revenue of $91.50 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $93.71 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.27 EPS. The company’s revenue was down 11.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts expect that IMAX will post 0.77 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at IMAX

In related news, insider Kenneth Ian Weissman sold 6,309 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $25.51, for a total transaction of $160,942.59. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 25,139 shares in the company, valued at approximately $641,295.89. This represents a 20.06 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Robert D. Lister sold 55,910 shares of IMAX stock in a transaction on Monday, December 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $25.50, for a total transaction of $1,425,705.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 138,889 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,541,669.50. This represents a 28.70 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 65,176 shares of company stock valued at $1,662,110 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 24.08% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On IMAX

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in IMAX. Hedges Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of IMAX by 3.1% in the fourth quarter. Hedges Asset Management LLC now owns 83,600 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,140,000 after purchasing an additional 2,500 shares in the last quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC grew its stake in shares of IMAX by 1.9% in the 4th quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 29,176 shares of the company’s stock worth $747,000 after buying an additional 533 shares in the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC bought a new stake in shares of IMAX in the 4th quarter worth about $333,000. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC purchased a new stake in shares of IMAX during the 3rd quarter valued at about $6,322,000. Finally, Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio bought a new position in shares of IMAX in the 3rd quarter valued at about $1,555,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.51% of the company’s stock.

About IMAX

IMAX Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, operates as a technology platform for entertainment and events worldwide. The company operates in two segments, Content Solutions and Technology Products and Services. The company offers IMAX DMR, a proprietary technology that digitally remasters films and other content into IMAX formats for distribution to the IMAX network; IMAX Enhanced that provides end-to-end technology across streaming content and entertainment devices at home; and SSIMWAVE, an AI-driven video quality solutions for media and entertainment companies.