GameStop (NYSE:GME) Stock Price Up 4.1% – Time to Buy?

GameStop Corp. (NYSE:GME) shares shot up 4.1% on Friday . The company traded as high as $21.55 and last traded at $21.97. 2,006,746 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 90% from the average session volume of 20,024,398 shares. The stock had previously closed at $21.10.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently issued reports on GME. StockNews.com raised GameStop from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, March 27th. Wedbush set a $11.50 price objective on shares of GameStop in a research report on Wednesday, March 26th.

GameStop Price Performance

The stock has a market cap of $10.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 129.68 and a beta of -0.29. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $24.83 and its 200-day moving average is $25.73.

GameStop (NYSE:GME) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, March 25th. The company reported $0.30 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.09 by $0.21. The company had revenue of $1.28 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.48 billion. GameStop had a net margin of 1.45% and a return on equity of 2.11%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 28.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.21 EPS. Analysts predict that GameStop Corp. will post 0.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other GameStop news, General Counsel Mark Haymond Robinson sold 4,687 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $22.53, for a total transaction of $105,598.11. Following the transaction, the general counsel now directly owns 37,663 shares in the company, valued at $848,547.39. This represents a 11.07 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Daniel William Moore sold 1,608 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $22.53, for a total transaction of $36,228.24. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 29,777 shares in the company, valued at $670,875.81. The trade was a 5.12 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 12.28% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. State Street Corp increased its position in GameStop by 38.0% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 11,143,759 shares of the company’s stock valued at $255,526,000 after acquiring an additional 3,070,571 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of GameStop by 5.5% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 39,144,063 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,226,775,000 after purchasing an additional 2,036,032 shares during the period. Slate Path Capital LP bought a new stake in shares of GameStop during the fourth quarter valued at about $60,361,000. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in GameStop by 41.8% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 6,278,680 shares of the company’s stock worth $144,009,000 after purchasing an additional 1,852,088 shares during the period. Finally, D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. grew its position in GameStop by 606.7% in the 4th quarter. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. now owns 1,650,750 shares of the company’s stock valued at $51,735,000 after buying an additional 1,417,156 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 29.21% of the company’s stock.

About GameStop

GameStop Corp., a specialty retailer, provides games and entertainment products through its stores and ecommerce platforms in the United States, Canada, Australia, and Europe. The company sells new and pre-owned gaming platforms; accessories, such as controllers, gaming headsets, and virtual reality products; new and pre-owned gaming software; and in-game digital currency, digital downloadable content, and full-game downloads.