Dawn Kawamoto over at DailyFinance wrote an article discussing THQ Inc. (THQI). She brings into focus a licensing deal between the video-game publisher and Mattel, Inc. (MAT). There was also mention of the incredible price action in the stock. So, what are investors to make of the thesis? What about traders?

This is a tricky one. And I've been wrong about THQ's prospects before. It's certainly difficult to predict the movement of a stock that's priced in the single digits. At the time of this writing, the shares were trading at a quote of $6.26.

Continue reading THQ: Is It Time to Buy or to Take Profits?

THQ: Is It Time to Buy or to Take Profits? originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 06 Jan 2011 17:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

There are always interesting stories in the marketplace. Today, I'm going to briefly comment on the price movements of three that I am watching.

Activision Blizzard (ATVI) is currently down 3% to $11.52, with significant volume backing the sell-off. Down, is that right, you ask? Yes, I'm afraid it is. I know: Call of Duty: Black Ops is doing excellent business. Millions of copies have been sold, and hundreds of millions of dollars have been grossed. Unfortunately, when it comes to trading on such news, the best bet is to sell out on any anticipatory rise that manifests itself before the event finally occurs.

Continue reading A Look at Three Stocks: ATVI, DWA, INTC

A Look at Three Stocks: ATVI, DWA, INTC originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 12 Nov 2010 15:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Time to Check In on THQ

Time to Check In on THQ originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 08 Nov 2010 15:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Analyst Upgrades

• JPMorgan upgraded Smith Micro (SMSI) to overweight from neutral and raised its price target to $15 from $9, citing the release of a WiFi iPad with MiFi from Verizon and Apple.
• Jefferies upgraded Whole Foods (WFMI) to buy from hold and raised its price target to $45 from $36, citing checks that indicate sales are accelerating and the company has been focused on expense control.
• Wells Fargo upgraded Ensco (ESV) and raised its price target to $54 to $56 from $46 to $47, citing valuation, the lifted deepwater drilling ban and higher oil prices.
• Gran Tierra Energy (GTE) was upgraded to buy from hold at Wunderlich, citing the company's Moqueta oil discovery as well as other near-term exploration opportunities, and raised its price target to $12.50 from $7.00.
• Chico's FAS (CHS) was upgraded to buy from hold at KeyBanc and set a $13 price target.
• UR-Energy (URE) was upgraded to buy from hold at KeyBanc.

Continue reading Analyst Calls: AMSC, CBOE, ERTS, ESV, JCP, PDE, SMSI, TTWO, UAL, WFMI ...

Analyst Calls: AMSC, CBOE, ERTS, ESV, JCP, PDE, SMSI, TTWO, UAL, WFMI ... originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 15 Oct 2010 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading THQ's Q1 Earnings: Not Impressive

THQ's Q1 Earnings: Not Impressive originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 10 Aug 2010 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Checking in on THQ

Checking in on THQ originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 06 Jul 2010 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Early Monday morning, video-game manufacturer THQ (THQI) announced that a stronger U.S. dollar and lower-than-expected sales of UFC Undisputed have caused the company to lower its first-quarter and full-year revenue forecast.

The company now believes it will report full-year net sales in a range of $845 million to $865 million, along with managing to break even on per-share earnings. THQ had earlier forcast net sales to total between $905 million and $920 million with earnings between 25 cents per share and 30 cents per share. As for analysts, expectations were for 31 cents per share with revenue of $913.4 million.

Continue reading Strong Dollar Leads to Lower Game Sales for THQ

Strong Dollar Leads to Lower Game Sales for THQ originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 14 Jun 2010 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Electronic Arts in the Red: Is Stock a Value?

Electronic Arts in the Red: Is Stock a Value? originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 12 May 2010 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Should You Speculate on THQ?

Should You Speculate on THQ? originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 07 May 2010 15:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Can You Buy Activision Blizzard After Q1 Report?

Can You Buy Activision Blizzard After Q1 Report? originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 07 May 2010 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Take-Two Interactive (TTWO) is the kind of stock I want to take a chance on but just can't bring myself to do so. The situation can be risky unless a fresh bit of Grand Theft Auto content is about to come out into the marketplace. Then again, those who bought ahead of the Q1 earnings report, released yesterday after the bell, are pretty overjoyed this afternoon, seeing that the stock is, at the time of this writing anyway, up well over 9%.

Net sales increased 9%. The adjusted loss from continuing operations was 31 cents per share. Last year at this time, shareholders were looking at a loss of 56 cents per share on the same basis. Reuters says the analyst call was for the red ink to equal 51 cents per share. Good job, management.

Continue reading Take-Two Trading Higher After Q1 Results: Is Stock a Buy?

Take-Two Trading Higher After Q1 Results: Is Stock a Buy? originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 04 Mar 2010 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Here are some highlights from this past week's earnings coverage on BloggingStocks:

• Aol Inc. (AOL) reported a better-than-expected Q4 profit and said its revenue also topped estimates.
• Burger King Holdings Inc. (BKC) higher Q2 earnings topped analysts' estimates but same-store sales fell.
• Clorox Co. (CLX) higher Q2 earnings beat expectations and it lifted its full-year earnings guidance.
• Comcast Corp. (CMCSA) Q4 earnings more than doubled and beat Wall Street expectations, but shares fell.
• Gap Inc. (GPS) shares jumped after it forecast earnings above analysts' expectations, boosted by January sales.

Continue reading Earnings Highlights: Aol, Burger King, Comcast, Hershey, Kellogg, UPS ...

Earnings Highlights: Aol, Burger King, Comcast, Hershey, Kellogg, UPS ... originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Sat, 06 Feb 2010 15:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

THQ (THQI), a video game publisher whose colleagues include Activision Blizzard (ATVI) and Electronic Arts (ERTS), reported very good news this week. For the third quarter, non-GAAP income was 35 cents per share. In the comparable frame, a loss of 14 cents per share was posted.

This obviously represents a vast improvement, although it should be noted that it didn't come on the back of a big sales increase. On a reported basis, the top line was flat, and on a non-GAAP basis, it was down more significantly. This is important to note, because it would have been nice to have read about a revenue expansion, considering the way the gaming industry has been suffering.

Continue reading THQ Reports Adjusted Profit in Q3

THQ Reports Adjusted Profit in Q3 originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 05 Feb 2010 17:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

The video game industry, as we are all aware, has taken a sharp turn from momentum growth. The various stocks in the sector, from my standpoint at least, are now becoming value-oriented plays. When this happens, the concept of consolidation comes into focus.

Trying to pick a stock that will experience a pop on a buyout is not for the faint of heart, or the impatient. And depending on the stocks you own, you might be hoping that you don't become involuntarily involved in an arbitrage scenario. That's why I was pleasantly relieved when I read an article stating that The Walt Disney Company (DIS) CEO Bob Iger may not be interested in purchasing a software publisher.

Continue reading Consolidation in the video game sector: Too soon to think about?

Consolidation in the video game sector: Too soon to think about? originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 09 Dec 2009 18:00:00 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.

Well, it's been an exciting month for the video-game industry. Viacom (NYSE: VIA) and Electronic Arts (NASDAQ: ERTS) released The Beatles: Rock Band to the market. Nintendo (OTC: NTDOY) cut the price of the Wii in an effort to better compete with Sony (NYSE: SNE) and Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT). And rumors of consolidation in the industry are getting heavy. The buzz on some corners of Wall Street is that perhaps a major media conglomerate might want to take over THQ (NASDAQ: THQI).

According to The Wall Street Journal (subscription required), either Viacom or Time Warner (NYSE: TWX) might be interested in the publisher. There are plenty of reasons to believe this would be a logical move for either of those two. And there are plenty of reasons to suggest that buying THQ wouldn't make sense. I mean, take Viacom: wouldn't it rather concentrate on the Rock Band franchise? As for Time Warner, does it truly desire the hassle of integrating THQ? Right now, Time Warner's stock is in an upswing, and I don't think shareholders would want to ruin such momentum with the purchase of a software company that has been experiencing growth problems.

Continue reading THQ and the acquisition thesis

THQ and the acquisition thesis originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Sat, 26 Sep 2009 10:10:00 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.

Here are some highlights from last week's earnings coverage from BloggingStocks:

• Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ: AMGN) reported strong Q2 earnings thought revenue fell but beat analysts' estimates.
• Colgate-Palmolive Co. (NYSE: CL) beat Q2 earnings estimates but revenue suffered from currency effects.
• Dow Chemical Co. (NYSE: DOW) reported a drop in Q2 revenue and a net loss on restructuring charges.
• Eastman Kodak Co. (NYSE: EK) posted a deeper-than-expected Q2 net loss as sales plunged.
• Exxon Mobil Corp. (NYSE: XOM) reported its lowest quarterly profit in years, well short of expectations.

Continue reading Earnings highlights: Verizon, RadioShack, MetLife, Kellogg, Exxon, Disney ...

Earnings highlights: Verizon, RadioShack, MetLife, Kellogg, Exxon, Disney ... originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Sun, 02 Aug 2009 09:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

THQ (NASDAQ: THQI), a video-game software publisher that competes with Electronic Arts (NASDAQ: ERTS), Take-Two Interactive (NASDAQ: TTWO), and my personal favorite, Activision Blizzard (NASDAQ: ATVI), lost well over 6% of its market value during Tuesday's after-hours trading session. The culprit catalyst? First-quarter earnings.

I was a bit surprised by the sell-off at first. After all, sales increased over 77%, and earnings per share on an adjusted basis came in at 10 cents versus a loss of 38 cents one year ago. That sounds awesome on the surface, as does the fact that Reuters says the market was actually expecting a loss of 6 cents per share!

Continue reading THQ powers past estimates in Q1, but should stock be sold?

THQ powers past estimates in Q1, but should stock be sold? originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 29 Jul 2009 14:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

JAKKS Pacific (NASDAQ: JAKK) is in rough shape. Sure, the toy industry can be tough. Just ask Hasbro (NYSE: HAS) and Mattel (NYSE: MAT). Even with great brands stocking a powerhouse portfolio, getting, and then keeping, the attention of kids is a difficult task. Well, JAKKS Pacific not only has that challenge to contend with, it has others as well.

Let's start with the awful earnings report management released to the market after the bell on Tuesday. For the second quarter, the company lost 3 cents per share on an adjusted basis. This compares to a profit of 17 cents per share in the year-ago period. Revenues were flat and unexciting.

Continue reading JAKKS Pacific: A speculative buy after the awful Q2 report?

JAKKS Pacific: A speculative buy after the awful Q2 report? originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 29 Jul 2009 12:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.