Light & Wonder (NASDAQ:LNW) Shares Gap Up Following Better-Than-Expected Earnings

Light & Wonder, Inc. (NASDAQ:LNW)’s stock price gapped up prior to trading on Thursday following a stronger than expected earnings report. The stock had previously closed at $73.43, but opened at $81.71. Light & Wonder shares last traded at $80.3310, with a volume of 702,661 shares trading hands.

The company reported $1.81 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.45 by $0.36. Light & Wonder had a net margin of 10.89% and a return on equity of 71.17%. The business had revenue of $841.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $866.97 million. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.71 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 2.9% on a year-over-year basis.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Macquarie reduced their price objective on shares of Light & Wonder from $122.00 to $117.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, August 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered shares of Light & Wonder from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $108.00 to $95.00 in a research report on Thursday, August 7th. Benchmark lowered their price objective on Light & Wonder from $100.00 to $90.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, August 8th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Light & Wonder in a research report on Friday, October 31st. Finally, Zacks Research cut shares of Light & Wonder from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 19th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Light & Wonder currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $102.14.

Insider Transactions at Light & Wonder

In related news, Director Hamish Mclennan acquired 1,380 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 12th. The stock was bought at an average price of $87.61 per share, for a total transaction of $120,901.80. Following the acquisition, the director directly owned 6,380 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $558,951.80. The trade was a 27.60% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Timothy Throsby bought 20,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 14th. The shares were bought at an average price of $89.37 per share, for a total transaction of $1,787,400.00. Following the acquisition, the director directly owned 42,082 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,760,868.34. This represents a 90.57% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. Insiders acquired a total of 29,481 shares of company stock worth $2,556,936 in the last three months. Insiders own 2.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Light & Wonder

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Teacher Retirement System of Texas increased its holdings in shares of Light & Wonder by 3.8% during the 1st quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 24,800 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,148,000 after acquiring an additional 897 shares during the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. bought a new position in Light & Wonder during the first quarter worth $1,130,000. State of Michigan Retirement System increased its holdings in shares of Light & Wonder by 1.0% in the first quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System now owns 21,099 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,827,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Xponance Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Light & Wonder by 2.5% in the first quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 18,219 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,578,000 after purchasing an additional 450 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Louisiana State Employees Retirement System raised its position in shares of Light & Wonder by 0.8% in the first quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 24,700 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,139,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 88.08% of the company’s stock.

Light & Wonder Trading Up 1.1%

The business’s 50 day moving average price is $82.05 and its 200-day moving average price is $87.42. The company has a current ratio of 1.77, a quick ratio of 1.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.86. The company has a market cap of $6.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.34, a PEG ratio of 0.48 and a beta of 1.42.

About Light & Wonder

Light & Wonder, Inc is a cross-platform global games company, which engages in the development of content and digital markets. It operates through the following segments: Gaming, SciPlay, and iGaming. The Gaming segment includes the design, manufacture, marketing, and distribution of portfolio of gaming products and services.