Sony (NYSE:SONY) Upgraded at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Sony (NYSE:SONY) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research report released on Saturday.

Other research analysts have also issued research reports about the company. Benchmark restated a “buy” rating on shares of Sony in a report on Monday, May 11th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of Sony in a report on Wednesday, May 20th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $22.00.

Sony Price Performance

Shares of Sony stock opened at $22.64 on Friday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $21.19 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $21.53. Sony has a 12 month low of $19.32 and a 12 month high of $30.34. The stock has a market capitalization of $133.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.35, a PEG ratio of 1.85 and a beta of 0.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10, a current ratio of 1.18 and a quick ratio of 0.94.

Sony (NYSE:SONY) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The company reported $0.36 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.28 by $0.08. The business had revenue of $17.45 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $17.17 billion. Sony had a positive return on equity of 13.06% and a negative net margin of 2.00%.The business’s quarterly revenue was up 8.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $42.84 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that Sony will post 1.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Sony news, CEO Hiroki Totoki sold 225,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, July 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $21.02, for a total transaction of $4,729,500.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 173,250 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,641,715. The trade was a 56.50% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Ravi Ahuja sold 36,826 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, July 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $21.08, for a total value of $776,292.08. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 58,786 shares in the company, valued at $1,239,208.88. This trade represents a 38.52% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 771,838 shares of company stock valued at $16,866,580. Insiders own 7.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. WCM Investment Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Sony by 337.6% in the first quarter. WCM Investment Management LLC now owns 1,949,592 shares of the company’s stock valued at $38,836,000 after acquiring an additional 1,504,035 shares in the last quarter. Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. acquired a new position in Sony during the 1st quarter worth $23,933,000. Brighton Jones LLC increased its holdings in Sony by 422.0% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 19,908 shares of the company’s stock worth $421,000 after purchasing an additional 16,094 shares during the period. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership purchased a new stake in Sony during the 1st quarter worth about $39,998,000. Finally, Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. increased its holdings in Sony by 28.0% during the 4th quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 973,178 shares of the company’s stock worth $24,913,000 after purchasing an additional 212,971 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 14.05% of the company’s stock.

Key Stories Impacting Sony

Here are the key news stories impacting Sony this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Spider-Man: Brand New Day is expanding to IMAX theaters across North America after generating $23 million in IMAX revenue in China, Japan and South Korea, including a franchise-record opening in China. Strong box-office momentum could lift Sony Pictures’ content revenue and licensing prospects. Spider-Man Brand New Day IMAX expansion
• Positive Sentiment: Sony Pictures is developing the medieval action film Castle, adding a new project to its film pipeline and potentially creating another franchise opportunity. Sony develops Castle
• Positive Sentiment: Continuing to reduce PS5 disc production could lower manufacturing and distribution costs and accelerate higher-margin digital game sales, although the transition carries customer-relations risks. Sony PS5 disc plans
• Neutral Sentiment: Sony introduced a new color for its WH-1000XM6 headphones, while discounts on the older WH-1000XM5 and positive reviews of Bravia Theater Trio support consumer-electronics visibility but offer limited immediate earnings impact. WH-1000XM6 color Bravia Theater Trio review
• Neutral Sentiment: A comparison of Sony and SharkNinja provides valuation and financial context but does not identify a new company-specific catalyst. Sony versus SharkNinja analysis
• Negative Sentiment: Sony will not pursue additional Spider-Man spin-offs after acknowledging that audiences were dissatisfied with earlier entries. The decision may improve brand discipline but signals weaker near-term franchise monetization. Sony cancels Spider-Man spin-offs
• Negative Sentiment: Sony Pictures Chairman Tom Rothman expressed disappointment that the Brad Pitt-led Cliff Booth project went to Netflix, meaning Sony lost an opportunity to control its theatrical distribution and related revenue. Cliff Booth spinoff moves to Netflix
• Negative Sentiment: Coverage of Bungie’s Marathon performance highlights ongoing execution and release-risk concerns in Sony’s game portfolio, particularly after its acquisition of Bungie. Sony addresses Marathon performance
• Negative Sentiment: A widely circulated leak of Spider-Man: Brand New Day footage creates spoiler and marketing risks, although Sony removed the material. Spider-Man leak report

Sony Company Profile

Sony Group Corporation (NYSE: SONY) is a Japanese multinational conglomerate headquartered in Minato, Tokyo. Founded in 1946 by Masaru Ibuka and Akio Morita, Sony has grown from an electronics maker into a diversified global company with operations spanning consumer electronics, entertainment, gaming, semiconductors and financial services. The company’s shares trade in Japan and its American Depositary Receipts trade on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker SONY.

Sony’s primary businesses include Electronics Products & Solutions, which covers televisions, audio equipment, digital cameras and professional broadcast systems; Game & Network Services, anchored by the PlayStation platform, consoles, software and online services; Music and Pictures, through Sony Music Entertainment and Sony Pictures Entertainment, producing, distributing and licensing recorded music, film and television content; Imaging & Sensing Solutions, which develops CMOS image sensors and other semiconductor components; and Financial Services, offering life insurance, banking and other financial products in Japan.