AMC Networks (NASDAQ:AMCX) Price Target Cut to $5.50 by Analysts at Morgan Stanley

AMC Networks (NASDAQ:AMCX) had its target price lowered by analysts at Morgan Stanley from $6.00 to $5.50 in a research report issued on Monday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an “underweight” rating on the stock. Morgan Stanley’s target price points to a potential downside of 8.64% from the company’s previous close.

Other research analysts have also issued research reports about the stock. StockNews.com lowered shares of AMC Networks from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, February 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on shares of AMC Networks from $9.00 to $8.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on shares of AMC Networks from $8.00 to $4.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Finally, UBS Group decreased their target price on shares of AMC Networks from $8.00 to $6.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $5.38.

AMC Networks Stock Up 2.9%

Shares of AMCX opened at $6.02 on Monday. AMC Networks has a 52 week low of $5.41 and a 52 week high of $18.58. The firm has a market cap of $265.70 million, a P/E ratio of -1.15 and a beta of 1.43. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $6.49 and its 200 day simple moving average is $8.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.63, a quick ratio of 2.38 and a current ratio of 2.38.

AMC Networks (NASDAQ:AMCX) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, May 9th. The company reported $0.52 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.73 by ($0.21). AMC Networks had a negative net margin of 9.36% and a positive return on equity of 18.61%. The company had revenue of $555.23 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $567.23 million. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.16 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 6.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts forecast that AMC Networks will post 2.62 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider F. Dolan 2009 Revocabl Charles sold 154,345 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $6.95, for a total value of $1,072,697.75. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 20,833 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $144,789.35. This represents a 88.11% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 15.62% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On AMC Networks

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its stake in AMC Networks by 9.7% in the 4th quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 23,102 shares of the company’s stock valued at $229,000 after purchasing an additional 2,043 shares during the last quarter. Ieq Capital LLC bought a new position in AMC Networks in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $414,000. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership bought a new position in AMC Networks in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $631,000. Contrarius Group Holdings Ltd bought a new position in AMC Networks in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $5,359,000. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its stake in AMC Networks by 333.7% in the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,622,785 shares of the company’s stock valued at $16,066,000 after purchasing an additional 1,248,571 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 78.51% of the company’s stock.

AMC Networks Company Profile

AMC Networks Inc, an entertainment company, owns and operates a suite of video entertainment products that are delivered to audiences, a platform to distributors, and advertisers in the United States, Europe, and internationally. The company operates through Domestic Operations, and International and Other segments.