Lionsgate stock continues to soar

Stock of Lionsgate is heading for a fourth consecutive all-time high amid Wall Street optimism over its young-adult franchises "The Hunger Games" and "Twilight."The issue soared 6% Friday, gaining 81 cents to $13.71 in mid-session trading on the NY Stock Exchange. The issue had gained 3% on Thursday and posted 2% hikes on Wednesday and Tuesday.The stock has jumped 59% since Jan. 13, when Liosngate completed its $412.5 million leveraged buyout of Summit Entertainment.Several factors have led to the bullish outlook including sales of 5 million units of "The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn - Part 1" in its first 11 days and the announcement by the Fandango ticketing site that first-day advance ticket sales of "The Hunger Games" had already sold out hundreds of showtimes in advance of the March 23 release date -- breaking the previous first day advance ticket-seller record held by "The Twilight Saga: Eclipse" on May 14, 2010. Contact Dave McNary at dave.mcnary@variety.com