Lions Gate Pops 8% Following Q4 Beat, Analysts Weigh In

Shares of Lions Gate Entertainment Corp. (USA) LGF gained roughly 8 percent on Thursday trading, following an earnings beat on Wednesday afternoon. After the market closed, the company reported EPS of $0.07, $0.09 above the Street’s consensus, on strong Film and TV performance – especially in international markets. Revenue of $791.2 million, up 22.5 percent year-over-year, also beat estimates, by $50.53 million.

Following the earnings report, Jefferies analysts led by John Janedis and Jaime Morris reiterated a Buy rating and $29 price target on shares of Lions Gate, assuring that, while the fourth quarter beat was certainly a positive, guidance for fiscal 2017 – which could be issued on late Thursday- will be central to determining if the stock can retain the gains.

On its last earnings call, the company backed away from its 3-year outlook, which guided for adjusted EBITDA of $1.1 billion to $1.2 billion. The experts were expecting management to provide an update on its guidance for fiscal 2017 during Thursday morning’s earnings call, anticipating “some built in conservatism.” News about the call has not transcended yet, but it seems like no guidance was provided, given the absence of comments in relation to the subject.

Disclosure: Javier Hasse holds no positions in any of the securities mentioned above.