IMAX (NYSE:IMAX) CEO Richard Gelfond Sells 151,253 Shares of Stock

IMAX Corporation (NYSE:IMAX) CEO Richard Gelfond sold 151,253 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $51.00, for a total transaction of $7,713,903.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 765,002 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $39,015,102. The trade was a 16.51% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan.

IMAX Stock Down 1.6%

IMAX stock opened at $52.87 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.90 billion, a PE ratio of 73.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.77 and a beta of 0.38. IMAX Corporation has a 52 week low of $25.56 and a 52 week high of $54.50. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $44.44 and a 200 day moving average of $40.06.

IMAX (NYSE:IMAX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 23rd. The company reported $0.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.30 by $0.13. The business had revenue of $102.84 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $96.09 million. IMAX had a net margin of 9.84% and a return on equity of 15.47%. IMAX’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.26 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that IMAX Corporation will post 1.44 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently issued reports on IMAX. Rosenblatt Securities reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $60.00 target price on shares of IMAX in a research report on Wednesday. Roth Capital lifted their price target on IMAX from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, July 24th. HC Wainwright reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of IMAX in a research note on Friday, July 24th. Barrington Research increased their price objective on IMAX from $46.00 to $50.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, July 24th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $42.00 price objective on shares of IMAX in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, IMAX currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $51.55.

Institutional Trading of IMAX

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in IMAX. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new position in shares of IMAX during the second quarter worth $115,881,000. Orbis Allan Gray Ltd boosted its holdings in IMAX by 31.7% in the second quarter. Orbis Allan Gray Ltd now owns 5,113,033 shares of the company’s stock valued at $142,960,000 after purchasing an additional 1,230,267 shares during the last quarter. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP boosted its holdings in IMAX by 44.6% in the fourth quarter. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP now owns 2,346,486 shares of the company’s stock valued at $86,726,000 after purchasing an additional 723,861 shares during the last quarter. Nantahala Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in IMAX during the 2nd quarter worth about $26,228,239,000. Finally, Marsico Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in IMAX during the 4th quarter worth about $18,149,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.51% of the company’s stock.

Key Headlines Impacting IMAX

Here are the key news stories impacting IMAX this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Rosenblatt Securities reaffirmed its Buy rating and set a $60 price target, implying further upside from recent trading levels. Benzinga analyst rating report
• Positive Sentiment: The Odyssey has surpassed $1.29 billion globally and is being described as IMAX’s biggest release ever, reinforcing the value of the company’s premium large-format screens and supporting potential box-office and licensing revenue. The Odyssey becomes IMAX’s biggest release
• Positive Sentiment: Demand for Dune: Part Three appears exceptionally strong, with IMAX 70mm screenings selling out or nearly selling out, booking websites reportedly facing heavy traffic, and tickets being resold at substantial markups. This suggests strong near-term attendance and premium-format demand. Early Dune IMAX 70mm showings nearly sell out
• Neutral Sentiment: CEO Richard L. Gelfond sold a combined 456,757 IMAX shares from August 18–20 for approximately $24.0 million. All three transactions were executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plan, reducing the likelihood that the sales reflect a newly negative view of the business, although they may weigh on sentiment after the stock’s strong rally. He continues to own 665,002 shares. SEC insider trading filing
• Negative Sentiment: The concentrated CEO selling is the clearest near-term bearish catalyst, particularly with IMAX trading near its 12-month high and at an elevated earnings multiple. Investors may interpret the sales as profit-taking and a source of additional supply even though they were preplanned.

About IMAX

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.