Is Now The Time To Look At Buying Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ:EA)?

Let's talk about the popular Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ:EA). The company's shares saw significant share price movement during recent months on the NASDAQGS, rising to highs of US$168 and falling to the lows of US$117. Some share price movements can give investors a better opportunity to enter into the stock, and potentially buy at a lower price. A question to answer is whether Electronic Arts' current trading price of US$117 reflective of the actual value of the large-cap? Or is it currently undervalued, providing us with the opportunity to buy? Let’s take a look at Electronic Arts’s outlook and value based on the most recent financial data to see if there are any catalysts for a price change.

View our latest analysis for Electronic Arts

Is Electronic Arts Still Cheap?

Electronic Arts appears to be expensive according to our price multiple model, which makes a comparison between the company's price-to-earnings ratio and the industry average. We’ve used the price-to-earnings ratio in this instance because there’s not enough visibility to forecast its cash flows. The stock’s ratio of 29.36x is currently well-above the industry average of 22.28x, meaning that it is trading at a more expensive price relative to its peers. Another thing to keep in mind is that Electronic Arts’s share price is quite stable relative to the rest of the market, as indicated by its low beta. This means that if you believe the current share price should move towards the levels of its industry peers over time, a low beta could suggest it is not likely to reach that level anytime soon, and once it’s there, it may be hard for it to fall back down into an attractive buying range again.

What does the future of Electronic Arts look like?

Investors looking for growth in their portfolio may want to consider the prospects of a company before buying its shares. Although value investors would argue that it’s the intrinsic value relative to the price that matter the most, a more compelling investment thesis would be high growth potential at a cheap price. With profit expected to grow by 56% over the next couple of years, the future seems bright for Electronic Arts. It looks like higher cash flow is on the cards for the stock, which should feed into a higher share valuation.

What This Means For You

Are you a shareholder? EA’s optimistic future growth appears to have been factored into the current share price, with shares trading above industry price multiples. However, this brings up another question – is now the right time to sell? If you believe EA should trade below its current price, selling high and buying it back up again when its price falls towards the industry PE ratio can be profitable. But before you make this decision, take a look at whether its fundamentals have changed.

Are you a potential investor? If you’ve been keeping an eye on EA for a while, now may not be the best time to enter into the stock. The price has surpassed its industry peers, which means it is likely that there is no more upside from mispricing. However, the positive outlook is encouraging for EA, which means it’s worth diving deeper into other factors in order to take advantage of the next price drop.

Diving deeper into the forecasts for Electronic Arts mentioned earlier will help you understand how analysts view the stock going forward. At Simply Wall St, we have the analysts estimates which you can view by clicking here.

If you are no longer interested in Electronic Arts, you can use our free platform to see our list of over 50 other stocks with a high growth potential.

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This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.