Light & Wonder, Inc. (NASDAQ:LNW) Short Interest Up 5.2% in October

Light & Wonder, Inc. (NASDAQ:LNW) was the target of a significant growth in short interest in October. As of October 31st, there was short interest totalling 3,460,000 shares, a growth of 5.2% from the October 15th total of 3,290,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 679,900 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 5.1 days. Currently, 3.8% of the shares of the stock are sold short.

Light & Wonder Stock Up 1.4 %

NASDAQ LNW traded up $1.18 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $86.51. The stock had a trading volume of 343,661 shares, compared to its average volume of 556,114. The stock has a market cap of $7.79 billion, a PE ratio of 63.21 and a beta of 1.82. Light & Wonder has a 1 year low of $53.77 and a 1 year high of $87.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.36, a current ratio of 2.78 and a quick ratio of 2.48. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $75.67 and a 200 day moving average price of $70.36.

Light & Wonder (NASDAQ:LNW) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 9th. The company reported $0.81 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.42 by $0.39. The firm had revenue of $731.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $714.92 million. Light & Wonder had a net margin of 4.48% and a return on equity of 17.11%. On average, research analysts expect that Light & Wonder will post 1.78 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Light & Wonder

In related news, Director Maria T. Vullo sold 2,093 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $76.80, for a total value of $160,742.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 10,789 shares in the company, valued at $828,595.20. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other Light & Wonder news, Director Maria T. Vullo sold 2,093 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $76.80, for a total value of $160,742.40. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 10,789 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $828,595.20. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CAO Vanja Kalabic sold 588 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $86.36, for a total transaction of $50,779.68. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 1,171 shares in the company, valued at $101,127.56. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.00% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Light & Wonder

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. bought a new stake in Light & Wonder during the third quarter valued at about $389,375,000. State Street Corp purchased a new stake in Light & Wonder in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $128,003,000. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Light & Wonder during the 4th quarter worth approximately $87,241,000. Alliancebernstein L.P. purchased a new position in Light & Wonder during the third quarter valued at approximately $36,277,000. Finally, Balyasny Asset Management L.P. boosted its position in shares of Light & Wonder by 3,232.2% in the first quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 522,860 shares of the company’s stock worth $31,398,000 after purchasing an additional 507,169 shares during the period. 85.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently commented on LNW. Redburn Partners began coverage on shares of Light & Wonder in a research note on Tuesday, August 22nd. They set a “buy” rating and a $104.00 price objective for the company. Truist Financial upped their target price on Light & Wonder from $86.00 to $88.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 10th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price target on Light & Wonder from $56.00 to $66.00 in a research note on Thursday, August 10th. TheStreet upgraded shares of Light & Wonder from a “c” rating to a “b” rating in a report on Friday, November 10th. Finally, Susquehanna lifted their target price on shares of Light & Wonder from $86.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a research note on Tuesday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Light & Wonder presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $81.33.

Light & Wonder Company Profile

Light & Wonder, Inc operates as a cross-platform games company in the United States and internationally. It operates through three segments: Gaming, SciPlay, and iGaming segments. The Gaming segment sells new and used gaming machines, electronic table systems, video lottery terminals, conversion game kits, and spare parts; table products, including shufflers; and perpetual licenses to gaming operators.