
Activision Blizzard (ATVI) Stock Up, Price Target Raised at MKM
NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- Activision Blizzard (ATVI) - Get Report stock is rising 1.55% to $35.29 in early morning trading after its price target was increased to $38 from $32 at MKM Partners, which maintained its "buy" rating on the stock.
The video game company is expected to beat estimates and guidance when it reports 2015 third quarter financial results on November 3 after the market close, MKM said in an analyst note.
Earnings could reach 16 cents per share on revenue of $965 million, surpassing consensus of earnings of 15 cents per share on $952 million in revenue, and the company's guidance of earnings of 14 cents per share on $930 million in revenue.
The quarter's largest gainer is expected to be the "Destiny: The Taken King" expansion pack that may have sold up to 6.5 million units, analysts added.
Additionally, Activision Blizzard's new eSports business is expected to fuel growth in the next few years as the global eSports market is expected to generate $612 million in revenue this year, according to Superdata research, analyst noted.
Separately, TheStreet Ratings team rates ACTIVISION BLIZZARD INC as a Buy with a ratings score of A. TheStreet Ratings Team has this to say about their recommendation:
We rate ACTIVISION BLIZZARD INC (ATVI) a BUY. This is based on the convergence of positive investment measures, which should help this stock outperform the majority of stocks that we rate. The company's strengths can be seen in multiple areas, such as its revenue growth, solid stock price performance, reasonable valuation levels, expanding profit margins and good cash flow from operations. Although no company is perfect, currently we do not see any significant weaknesses which are likely to detract from the generally positive outlook.
Highlights from the analysis by TheStreet Ratings Team goes as follows:
- The revenue growth came in higher than the industry average of 9.8%. Since the same quarter one year prior, revenues slightly increased by 7.6%. This growth in revenue appears to have trickled down to the company's bottom line, improving the earnings per share.
- Investors have apparently begun to recognize positive factors similar to those we have mentioned in this report, including earnings growth. This has helped drive up the company's shares by a sharp 80.55% over the past year, a rise that has exceeded that of the S&P 500 Index. Regarding the stock's future course, although almost any stock can fall in a broad market decline, ATVI should continue to move higher despite the fact that it has already enjoyed a very nice gain in the past year.
- The gross profit margin for ACTIVISION BLIZZARD INC is currently very high, coming in at 81.80%. It has increased from the same quarter the previous year.
- Net operating cash flow has increased to $135.00 million or 27.35% when compared to the same quarter last year. In addition, ACTIVISION BLIZZARD INC has also vastly surpassed the industry average cash flow growth rate of -30.19%.
- You can view the full analysis from the report here: ATVI








