Zacks Investment Research Lowers Amaya Inc. (AYA) to Hold

Amaya Inc. (NASDAQ:AYA) was downgraded by Zacks Investment Research from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note issued on Monday, July 17th.

According to Zacks, “Amaya, Inc. offers technology-based products and services in the gaming industry. It operates through business-to-consumer and business-to-business segments. The company’s gaming solution includes online casino gaming systems, Ongame poker software and network solutions, Game Office player management software platform, Mosino hospitality platform; land-based gaming solutions and lottery solutions. Amaya Inc., formerly known as Amaya Gaming Group Inc., is headquartered in Pointe-Claire, Canada. “

Other equities research analysts also recently issued research reports about the stock. ValuEngine downgraded shares of Amaya from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 23rd. Desjardins lifted their price target on shares of Amaya to $30.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, May 15th. TheStreet upgraded shares of Amaya from a “d+” rating to a “c” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 24th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity set a $29.00 price target on shares of Amaya and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 11th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. The company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $26.33.

Amaya (NASDAQ:AYA) traded down 0.56% on Monday, reaching $17.90. 51,543 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.62 billion, a PE ratio of 23.77 and a beta of 1.98. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $17.61 and a 200 day moving average of $16.46. Amaya has a 12 month low of $12.85 and a 12 month high of $20.35.

Amaya (NASDAQ:AYA) last announced its earnings results on Friday, May 12th. The technology company reported $0.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the Zacks’ consensus estimate of $0.51 by $0.05. Amaya had a net margin of 12.28% and a return on equity of 24.47%. The business had revenue of $317.32 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $308.63 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.43 earnings per share. Amaya’s revenue was up 10.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict that Amaya will post $2.19 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Morgan Stanley increased its stake in shares of Amaya by 2,093.7% in the first quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 2,978,023 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $50,626,000 after buying an additional 2,842,272 shares in the last quarter. Caledonia Private Investments Pty Ltd increased its position in shares of Amaya by 8.6% in the first quarter. Caledonia Private Investments Pty Ltd now owns 28,383,795 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $482,525,000 after buying an additional 2,240,810 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Amaya during the fourth quarter valued at about $17,336,000. Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI increased its position in shares of Amaya by 86.2% in the first quarter. Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI now owns 2,159,600 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $36,713,000 after buying an additional 1,000,000 shares during the period. Finally, UBS Group AG increased its position in shares of Amaya by 188.1% in the first quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 1,311,415 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $22,294,000 after buying an additional 856,293 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 64.10% of the company’s stock.

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