IMAX (NYSE:IMAX) Sets New 52-Week High – Time to Buy?

IMAX Corporation (NYSE:IMAX)’s share price reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $43.31 and last traded at $42.9320, with a volume of 130222 shares. The stock had previously closed at $42.18.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

IMAX has been the subject of a number of research reports. Barrington Research upped their target price on shares of IMAX from $42.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, May 1st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and set a $60.00 target price on shares of IMAX in a report on Friday, May 22nd. Wedbush reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $46.00 target price on shares of IMAX in a report on Thursday, April 23rd. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on shares of IMAX from $37.00 to $41.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, March 2nd. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised shares of IMAX from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Thursday, June 4th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $48.00.

IMAX Price Performance

The stock’s fifty day moving average is $37.30 and its 200-day moving average is $37.17. The stock has a market cap of $2.35 billion, a PE ratio of 65.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 0.37.

IMAX (NYSE:IMAX) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The company reported $0.17 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.15 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $81.38 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $79.82 million. IMAX had a net margin of 9.08% and a return on equity of 13.61%. IMAX’s revenue was down 6.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.13 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts expect that IMAX Corporation will post 1.34 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other IMAX news, CEO Richard L. Gelfond sold 135,046 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $37.82, for a total transaction of $5,107,439.72. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 765,002 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $28,932,375.64. This trade represents a 15.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Kevin Douglas sold 330,200 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $37.82, for a total transaction of $12,488,164.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 3,657,450 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $138,324,759. This trade represents a 8.28% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 933,064 shares of company stock valued at $35,201,610. 20.55% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Orbis Allan Gray Ltd boosted its stake in IMAX by 31.7% during the second quarter. Orbis Allan Gray Ltd now owns 5,113,033 shares of the company’s stock worth $142,960,000 after buying an additional 1,230,267 shares during the period. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP lifted its position in shares of IMAX by 44.6% during the fourth quarter. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP now owns 2,346,486 shares of the company’s stock worth $86,726,000 after purchasing an additional 723,861 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in shares of IMAX by 1.9% during the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,237,230 shares of the company’s stock worth $47,026,000 after purchasing an additional 23,401 shares in the last quarter. Nantahala Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of IMAX by 24.9% during the second quarter. Nantahala Capital Management LLC now owns 1,133,993 shares of the company’s stock worth $31,706,000 after purchasing an additional 225,742 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of IMAX by 1.9% during the fourth quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,104,071 shares of the company’s stock worth $40,806,000 after purchasing an additional 20,079 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.51% of the company’s stock.

IMAX Company Profile

IMAX Corporation is a global leader in immersive entertainment technologies, specializing in the design, manufacture and distribution of high-resolution cameras, projectors, and proprietary software solutions that enhance both film production and theatrical exhibition. The company licenses its premium large-format system to theatre owners and filmmakers around the world, enabling audiences to experience movies with greater clarity, scale and sound fidelity. IMAX also offers turnkey theatre development services, assisting cinema operators with auditorium design, installation and custom branding to optimize the customer experience.

Founded in 1967 and headquartered in Mississauga, Ontario, IMAX has built a reputation for pioneering film-format innovations, including its patented dual 15-perforation, 70-millimeter projection system.