I've written a lot about Blizzard (ATVI). It's a fun stock to watch. And the company is pretty fun, too. How can you not like the business behind both Call of Duty and Pitfall?

Those who've read my prior pieces on this subject probably know what I'm about to say in regard to the recent bullishness in the shares: Take profits now. Yes, the stock continues to scare me a bit. Well, maybe more than a bit. I know that the latest Call of Duty title is doing incredibly well at retail, but I also know that Guitar Hero is no longer on every teenager's Christmas wish list. Offsetting elements can be a problem, keep in mind.

Continue reading Activision Blizzard: Are the Bulls Right?

Activision Blizzard: Are the Bulls Right? originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 23 Dec 2010 10:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Activision Blizzard (ATVI) was, at the time of this writing, off by 3% to a quote of $11.28. Strong volume accompanied the dip. It's a shame, because the latest earnings report wasn't all that bad.

According to the Associated Press, adjusted income of 12 cents per share was three pennies ahead of the consensus estimate. The top line, after taking into account some items, also beat projections. Furthermore, management raised its outlook for the full fiscal year.

Continue reading Activision Blizzard Down Following Third-Quarter Results

Activision Blizzard Down Following Third-Quarter Results originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 05 Nov 2010 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Activision Blizzard Inc. (ATVI) is trading down this afternoon. At the time of this writing, the video-game publisher behind the Call of Duty series was off by over 4% to $10.82. Volume was heavy.

That's an interesting move for the stock, because it may be an opportunity for very short-term traders who are willing to take on extremely significant risk. I haven't felt comfortable about an Activision Blizzard trade for a long time. I would love for the shares to dip below $10 at some point; then, I might have reason to start a position.

Continue reading Activision Blizzard Trading Down

Activision Blizzard Trading Down originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 16 Sep 2010 16:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Three Undervalued Stocks to Buy

Three Undervalued Stocks to Buy originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 13 Jul 2010 17:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

"As a conservative long-term oriented investor I tend to keep individual position sizes to no more than 5% of the overall portfolio; however in the case of Activision Blizzard (ATVI), I'm building a more concentrated position that I expect to pay off in the next two to three years," says Asif Suria.

In his The SINLetter advisory, he offers 10 reasons why he believes the stock is an attractive core long-term investment. He explains, "My goal is to eventually build this position until it represents 20% of my personal portfolio. Here are 10 reasons behind this decision.

1) Activision released the highly anticipated game Call of Duty: Modern Warefare 2 and racked up $310 million in sales from the United States and United Kingdom over a 24 hour period. With Christmas right around the corner, the final sales numbers for this edition of Call of Duty are going to be much bigger.

Continue reading Activision Blizzard (ATVI): 10 reasons to buy

Activision Blizzard (ATVI): 10 reasons to buy originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 24 Nov 2009 10:10:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Adjusted revenues were up a scant 2%. Earnings per share, excluding items, actually showed a profit of 6 cents. This was a lot better than the loss of 6 cents per share seen in the year-ago frame. The company also managed to generate a small amount of cash from operations in the quarter instead of using a whole bunch like it did last time around.

Continue reading Electronic Arts not popular with investors after Q2 report

Electronic Arts not popular with investors after Q2 report originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 10 Nov 2009 15:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Activision Blizzard (NASDAQ: ATVI) published third-quarter results on Thursday after the bell. I can't say I was wholly taken with them. I know the best is probably yet to come once the Christmas shopping season really gets under way, but I was a little disappointed that the company saw a decline in adjusted profit.

Excluding items, Activision Blizzard made 4 cents per share this quarter versus the 7 cents per share made in last year's similar period. Well, did I say I was a little disappointed? Make that a lot disappointed. After all, this is supposed to be the publisher with the best pipeline on the block, the one with the Guitar Hero franchise and a great portfolio of licensed intellectual properties.

Continue reading Activision Blizzard's Q3: Am I right to be bearish?

Activision Blizzard's Q3: Am I right to be bearish? originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 06 Nov 2009 10:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Activision Blizzard (NASDAQ: ATVI) remains confident in its guidance for full-year earnings. According to StreetInsider.com, management is still looking for sales of $4.5 billion on the top line and adjusted earnings of 63 cents per share on the bottom line.

The publisher, which competes with Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ: ERTS), should benefit from recent hardware price cuts made by Sony Corporation (NYSE: SNE) and Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ: MSFT). With more units in the field, there most likely will be higher demand for Activision Blizzard's awesome pipeline, which includes Call of Duty.

Continue reading Activision Blizzard still looking good?

Activision Blizzard still looking good? originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 21 Sep 2009 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Electronic Arts (NASDAQ: ERTS), a video-game publisher that competes with Activision Blizzard (NASDAQ: ATVI), THQ (NASDAQ: THQI), and Take-Two Interactive (NASDAQ: TTWO), issued Q1 stats after the bell on Tuesday. Things are looking up for the company famous for its Madden brand of football software. Adjusted revenues increased over 30%, and the loss on the bottom line narrowed to 2 cents per share from a loss of 42 cents per share in the year-ago period.

The profit performance beat Wall Street's expectations, as Alex Salkever reports over at DailyFinance. You can check out his article to get the highlights of the quarter and a perspective on the current state of the video-game industry, which includes console makers Sony (NYSE: SNE), Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT), and Nintendo (OTC: NTDOY).

Continue reading Electronic Arts reduces red ink in Q1; should I be bullish on the stock?

Electronic Arts reduces red ink in Q1; should I be bullish on the stock? originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 05 Aug 2009 15:10:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

I was looking around today for a stock to buy. I came up empty-handed. One of my ideas was Activision Blizzard (NASDAQ: ATVI). I was intrigued this week by reports that said the company wants to have the launch to end all launches for the next Call of Duty title. Quite frankly, I think there's a chance the company will succeed with this. So, naturally, my thoughts turned to shares of Activision Blizzard as a possible buy candidate. Although I already own the stock in a longer-term, taxed portfolio, I wanted a trade for my Roth IRA.

Well, I couldn't buy the company. It's up today (3% at the time of this writing), and I do not want to buy any stock when it's up. Not now, at any rate. The market has come too far too fast, in my opinion, and I want to trade carefully. But, while looking at Activision Blizzard, I came across this article from Ben Kuchera over at Ars Technica. He discusses comments made by the publisher's CEO, Bobby Kotick, on Sony Corporation (NYSE: SNE) and its PlayStation platforms.

Continue reading Activision Blizzard CEO Bobby Kotick needs to tone down rhetoric

Activision Blizzard CEO Bobby Kotick needs to tone down rhetoric originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 19 Jun 2009 17:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Electronic Arts (NASDAQ: ERTS) hasn't been doing as well as its colleague Activision Blizzard (NASDAQ: ATVI). Indeed, when it comes to the numbers, Activision, which is responsible for franchise hits Guitar Hero and Call of Duty, has its competitor beat.

But EA recently released an exercise system for the Nintendo (OTC: NTDOY) Wii that was highlighted at CNBC.com. The piece mentions the enormous marketing presence that is supporting EA Sports Active. You get a couple accessories with the software: a leg strap that is used like a controller to interact with the screen, and a resistance band to increase the effectiveness of the workout. Oprah Winfrey's trainer apparently assisted EA with the design.

Continue reading Can Electronic Arts capitalize on the Wii Fit craze?

Can Electronic Arts capitalize on the Wii Fit craze? originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 26 May 2009 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Activision Blizzard (NASDAQ: ATVI), a video-game publisher that competes with Electronic Arts (NASDAQ: ERTS), THQ (NASDAQ: THQI), and Take-Two Interactive (NASDAQ: TTWO), reported some cool first-quarter numbers on Thursday after the bell. On an adjusted basis, the company earned 8 cents per share. According to analysts, Activision Blizzard was only supposed to do around 5 cents per share.

Not only was the bottom line solid, but revenues on an adjusted basis also came in ahead of expectations. And you can thank the usual suspects for powering up the quarter. You've got Call of Duty. You've got Guitar Hero. You've got World of Warcraft. These best-of-breed franchises are selling a lot of copies on Sony's (NYSE: SNE) PlayStation 3, Microsoft's (NASDAQ: MSFT) Xbox 360, and Nintendo's (OTC: NTDOY) Wii.

Continue reading Activision Blizzard beats in Q1 -- is it still a strong investment idea?

Activision Blizzard beats in Q1 -- is it still a strong investment idea? originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 08 May 2009 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

GameStop (NYSE: GME) reported earnings for Q4 and the full fiscal year on Thursday. As expected, they were very good. Why shouldn't they be? The country is in love with video games, and systems by Sony (NYSE: SNE), Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT), and Nintendo (OTC: NTDOY) are keeping a lot of people from all age groups occupied. Including myself. I just recently completed Resident Evil 5 for the PlayStation 3.

Continue reading GameStop issues a good report, but stock sells off -- buy it?

GameStop issues a good report, but stock sells off -- buy it? originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 26 Mar 2009 14:50:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Boy, I'll tell you, owning Activision Blizzard (NASDAQ: ATVI) has been tough lately. I love the company's prospects. It's got great franchises: Call of Duty, Guitar Hero, World of Warcraft. It's doing better than rivals Electronic Arts (NASDAQ: ERTS) and THQ (NASDAQ: THQI). But the stock has been hitting a lot of technical resistance. Not only that, but CEO Bobby Kotick recently sold a bunch of shares (over a million, actually).

Well, in terms of that insider sale, we can all relax. Basically, Kotick was exercising options that were set to expire relatively soon, says Barron's. That accounted for one million shares. Now, he did also sell over 240,000 shares that were stored in a trust. The mitigating factor here is that Kotick operates under restrictions as to when he can and cannot sell stock. So, in an overall sense, we can give him a pass on this one. Silicon Alley Insider supports this sentiment, and talks about another insider's sale in similar terms.

Continue reading Activision Blizzard: Great company, but is it heading lower short-term?

Activision Blizzard: Great company, but is it heading lower short-term? originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Sat, 14 Mar 2009 14:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Okay, video-game sales stats are out for the month of January. Please tell me there are some exciting changes in the ranking in terms of which gaming console dominated the charts in the U.S. Please tell me that it wasn't the Nintendo (OTC: NTDOY) Wii -- that would be too boring. Please . . .

Ah, forget about it! There's no suspense to this. We all know that the Wii is number-one yet again. In January, the console moved just under 680,000 units through retail shelves. Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) sold over 300,000 Xbox 360 systems, and Sony (NYSE: SNE), once again, came in third place, convincing a little more than 200,000 gamers to take a chance on its more expensive hardware. Believe it or not, it isn't just price that is sending people to the Wii. If it were just price, then the Xbox 360 without the hard drive would be in first place. No, the Wii is turning into one huge entertainment icon.

Continue reading Nintendo and the casual gamer still rule

Nintendo and the casual gamer still rule originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 13 Feb 2009 12:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

I'm still bullish on Activision Blizzard (NASDAQ: ATVI), which competes with Electronic Arts (NASDAQ: ERTS) and Take-Two Interactive (NASDAQ: TTWO), among others. For now. I qualify my stance because, I have to admit, my confidence has been shaken. Although I recently wrote a positive piece about the publisher's prospects, there's some word that the company's two major franchises may not have sold as well as expected during the holidays.

Two analysts have cut their price targets on the company's stock, and the stock has hit technical trouble. Indeed, if you own shares of Activision Blizzard, you've noticed the recent deterioration in the stock's momentum. The problem is that sales of Guitar Hero and Call of Duty may have been affected by the bad economy. Although they undoubtedly sold very well, they may not have rocked enough to justify the company's multiple. Now, the business is certainly a great longer-term play (at least until the current video-game cycle starts to wane), and the World of Warcraft online asset should be an incredible growth driver going forward, but on the short term, I have to say that traders need to be cautious. I see a bit more downside to the stock before it possibly recovers, which, at this time, I think it will.

Continue reading Is Activision Blizzard a sell?

Is Activision Blizzard a sell? originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Sun, 28 Dec 2008 14:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) is in mortal competition with Sony (NYSE: SNE). The Xbox 360 wants to destroy the PlayStation 3. Of course, both would like to take out the Nintendo (OTC: NTDOY) Wii, but that's a pipe dream at this point. Microsoft mainly wants to claim victory over Sony because the systems of those two companies are more comparable to each other than they are to the Wii. And it looks like the most recent Black Friday may have been a win for Microsoft.

According to this source, the Xbox 360 outsold the PlayStation 3 by a margin of three-to-one. Also, Microsoft increased its console sales on Black Friday by 25% on a year-over-year basis. This data comes from Microsoft itself. Assuming it is close to accurate, Sony continues to find itself in a terrible position. Really, this current console cycle has been difficult for the PlayStation franchise. But while Microsoft won bragging rights, I can't help but wonder if the real winner from this increase in Xbox 360's installed user base is actually Activision Blizzard (NASDAQ: ATVI). It's currently my favorite publisher, and I own it in my portfolio. And given that the article I cited mentions the fact that the Xbox 360 enjoys a healthy game attach rate (the game attach rate is an indicator of how many software titles are purchased per console for a particular system), I figure that a lot of the new Xbox 360 owners will be attaching titles such as Call of Duty and Guitar Hero to their systems. These two brands play very well on the powerful console, and they are must-own games for a lot of users.

Admittedly, I'm sure other publishers will benefit from all the new Xbox 360 owners. Electronic Arts (NASDAQ: ERTS), THQ (NASDAQ: THQI), and Take-Two Interactive (NASDAQ: TTWO) are all obviously happy over Microsoft's Black Friday performance. But I believe Activision Blizzard to be the best positioned of the group. Its portfolio should rock over the holidays, and I think the company will take full advantage of all the console sales from now until the new year.

Disclosure: I own Activision Blizzard; positions can change at any time.

Microsoft beats Sony on Black Friday (real winner: Activision Blizzard) originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 03 Dec 2008 11:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

GameStop (NYSE: GME) didn't have a great third quarter. Total sales increased by slightly higher than 5%. On a GAAP basis, earnings dropped three pennies to $0.28 per share. If you exclude items such as debt extinguishment and foreign currency effects, then adjusted earnings per share on a diluted basis increased 19% to $0.38.

The bottom line may have increased by double digits by GameStop's calculation, but there are a couple reasons not to be too impressed by the performance. First, management missed the analyst's call by three pennies (this particular source is using $0.34 as an adjusted number, and comparing it to the expectation of $0.37). Second, and of higher importance to me, same-store sales decreased 1.8% during the quarter.

Now, it is true that the video-game retailer was cycling off a dramatic 46.3% increase in comps in the year-ago period, an expansion that was driven by Microsoft's (NASDAQ: MSFT) incredible Halo 3 phenomenon. I realize it was a difficult comparison. But there's no way that an investor can't be disappointed by that figure. The difference between positive 46.3% and negative 1.8% is rather sizable; I think management should have tried a little harder to deliver a number on the positive side of things at the very least.

Continue reading Not much fun for GameStop in Q3

Not much fun for GameStop in Q3 originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 20 Nov 2008 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

The month of October was good to the Nintendo (OTC BB: NTDOY) Wii console. Actually, every month seems to be good to the Wii console. According to the latest sales figures, the Wii sold over 800,000 units during the Halloween season. Nothing scary about that.

Of course, Sony (NYSE: SNE) probably was a little spooked. The company's PlayStation 3 system came in a distant third to the Wii. Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) probably felt all right. The Xbox 360 came in second place, fueled by a recent price cut. Believe it or not, you can actually get a video game system for less money than it costs to acquire a Wii. The Xbox 360 version without a hard drive goes for $199. Still, people are willing to pay a premium for casual gaming.

After I got through checking out the hardware sales, I wanted to see how software had performed last month over at Gamespot. I have to admit, I was pretty shocked to learn of the "conspicuously absent" Guitar Hero World Tour game. That bugged me because one of the prime reasons I own shares of Activision Blizzard (NASDAQ: ATVI) is the Guitar Hero franchise. However, one thing to keep in mind is that the title still has time to chart. It was released the last week of October, so perhaps the November rankings will be kind to it. Also, the new Call of Duty war adventure hit the street this week. Anecdotally, I know there's a lot of interest in that game.

Continue reading Video game sales rocket in October -- I still like Activision Blizzard

Video game sales rocket in October -- I still like Activision Blizzard originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 14 Nov 2008 11:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

So, how will booksellers such as Barnes & Noble (NYSE: BKS), Borders Group (NYSE: BGP), and Amazon (NASDAQ: AMZN) fare during the holiday season? It's an interesting question, one which is examined in an article at The New York Times. The piece talks about how the current recession seems to be affecting consumers and their desire to buy books. At the beginning of the article, two shoppers are browsing in a bookstore -- one buys, the other doesn't. Both have been affected by the bad economy. What are we to make of this?

I'll give you my take on things. Books, unfortunately, are simply not so glamorous these days. And I do think that booksellers are going to have a hard time this holiday season. With all the competition from video games and other media, the printed page just isn't that exciting to a lot of consumers. I don't think that books will be a top priority as the wallet continues to get squeezed and while job security remains an issue. Our attention spans have been cut so short these days, and they're only getting shorter. In an era of MTV quick-edits and PowerPoint presentations, 100,000-word diversions don't feel so diverting anymore.

Books are probably even less exciting to young people. Seriously, how many kids have books on their Christmas lists this year? They may want the latest Blu-ray cartoon from Disney (NYSE: DIS), or the latest Call of Duty game from Activision Blizzard (NASDAQ: ATVI), but I'm not so sure they want the latest Stephen King novel (as for me, I picked up King's latest short-story collection Just After Sunset at my local Barnes & Noble). Many kids have been introduced to the joys of reading through the Harry Potter series, but I don't think Potter will be working his magic this season. If parents do cut back this year on presents, I figure they're going to err on the side of making sure that all the non-book gifts are acquired.

Is there anything the booksellers can do about this?

Continue reading Booksellers hope people read even during a recession (BKS, AMZN, BGP)

Booksellers hope people read even during a recession (BKS, AMZN, BGP) originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 12 Nov 2008 14:35:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.