Playtika (NASDAQ:PLTK) Shares Gap Up – Here’s Why

Playtika Holding Corp. (NASDAQ:PLTK) gapped up prior to trading on Monday . The stock had previously closed at $2.74, but opened at $2.95. Playtika shares last traded at $3.1110, with a volume of 525,696 shares.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently commented on PLTK shares. Weiss Ratings cut Playtika from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d)” rating in a report on Monday, March 2nd. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price target on Playtika from $4.75 to $4.25 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, March 2nd. Wedbush cut Playtika from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $3.00 price target on the stock. in a report on Monday, March 2nd. Wall Street Zen cut Playtika from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, January 25th. Finally, Citigroup lowered their price target on Playtika from $7.00 to $5.50 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 20th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Playtika has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $4.38.

Playtika Stock Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $1.19 billion, a PE ratio of -5.81 and a beta of 0.88. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $3.11 and a 200-day moving average price of $3.59.

Playtika (NASDAQ:PLTK) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 26th. The company reported ($0.82) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.14 by ($0.96). The firm had revenue of $678.80 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $660.32 million. Playtika had a negative return on equity of 114.29% and a negative net margin of 7.49%.The firm’s revenue was up 4.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned ($0.04) earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that Playtika Holding Corp. will post 0.65 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Playtika

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Playtika by 65.7% during the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 6,331,123 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,630,000 after acquiring an additional 2,511,228 shares in the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership raised its holdings in Playtika by 20.6% during the 3rd quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 3,972,998 shares of the company’s stock valued at $15,455,000 after buying an additional 679,564 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company raised its holdings in Playtika by 19.1% during the 2nd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 3,708,556 shares of the company’s stock valued at $17,541,000 after buying an additional 595,494 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in Playtika by 15.7% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,191,732 shares of the company’s stock valued at $12,416,000 after buying an additional 432,060 shares during the period. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Playtika by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,765,918 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,976,000 after buying an additional 33,306 shares during the period. 11.94% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Playtika Company Profile

Playtika Ltd. (NASDAQ: PLTK) is a leading developer and publisher of free-to-play mobile and social games. Established in 2010 and headquartered in Herzliya, Israel, the company has built a reputation for creating engaging, social casino and casual gaming experiences. Playtika’s platform leverages data-driven analytics and in-game community features to drive player retention and monetization across multiple titles.

The company’s diverse portfolio includes flagship social casino games such as Slotomania, Bingo Blitz and Caesars Casino, as well as skill-based and casual offerings like World Series of Poker and House of Fun.