Continue reading Closing Bell: It ain't just financial stocks (UPS, FDX, ATVI, GE, GOOG, MCD)

Closing Bell: It ain't just financial stocks (UPS, FDX, ATVI, GE, GOOG, MCD) originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 08 May 2009 16:00:00 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.

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 earnings for the fourth quarter on Wednesday after the bell. The company did well during the holiday-selling season, in my opinion. According to this source, adjusted quarterly earnings of 31 cents per share beat estimates by two pennies. Non-GAAP sales of $2.3 billion also beat analyst expectations.

However, the market decided to sell the stock in the after-hours session after the earnings were released because of what was perceived to be a poor outlook for the next fiscal year (as I was writing this piece, the shares were off by about 4%). Analysts were hoping that 2009 would bring 67 cents per share on an adjusted basis, but Activision Blizzard's management team thinks 61 cents per share is more likely.

Continue reading Activision Blizzard beats during holiday quarter, where does stock go from here?

Activision Blizzard beats during holiday quarter, where does stock go from here? originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 12 Feb 2009 08:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Activision closed on its transaction with Vivendi Games Thursday and officially became Activision Blizzard (NASDAQ: ATVID), according to an article at SmartMoney.com. And I am pretty excited at the prospects for the new business (I am a shareholder). It's going to be a tough competitor against Electronic Arts (NASDAQ: ERTS) and Take-Two Interactive (NASDAQ: TTWO). (Of course, the latter two might merge at some point.)

Activision is riding high with its Guitar Hero franchise, and Vivendi Games brings an incredible asset to the table in the form of online gaming sensation World of Warcraft. I can't say I know much about World of Warcraft the game itself, but I know it has a huge following. What else do I need to know, right? For 2009, management at Activision Blizzard expects pro-forma operating income of over $1 billion and perhaps $1.20 or more in terms of earnings per share. That puts the stock, which rose over 5% on Thursday and closed with a price of $31.77 per share, with a P/E ratio a little over 26. That isn't too bad a valuation considering the growth potential. And when the holiday season comes around, I'm sure people will still be buying the publisher's software for gifts, recession or not. Whether it's the Sony (NYSE: SNE) PlayStation 3, the Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) Xbox 360, or the Nintendo (OTC: NTDOY) Wii, gamers will be buying the company's products for these platforms in droves.

The stock has retreated from the highs it reached back in June when I wrote about it, but I am still bullish on the thesis here. Activision Blizzard should do really well, but with the markets in turmoil, you can probably wait for a pullback before buying.

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

Activision Blizzard set to rock the market originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 11 Jul 2008 14:24:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

eBay to sellers: You don't 'own' virtual property originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 31 Jan 2007 15:06:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.