Video game stocks failed to show any improvement over the last 5 sessions probably due to the absence of any major event. Some of the highlights for the past week were the earnings results released by SINA Corp. SINA and Scientific Games Corp. SGMS and Zynga, Inc.’s ZNGA plan to launch Dawn of Titans which led to a decent rise in its share price.
Top Stories Over the Last Week
1. Zynga’s subsidiary, NaturalMotion, recently announced that the much-awaited game Dawn of Titans will be launched by 2015-end. Dawn of Titans, an action packed fantasy strategy game, is primarily designed for iPhone and iPad users. This led to a significant rise in Zynga’s share price, despite the overall bearish momentum in the market. (Read more: Zynga's NaturalMotion to Launch 'Dawn of Titans,' Shares Up)
2. SINA Corp. reported fourth-quarter 2014 earnings of 10 cents per share, missing the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 15 cents by 33.3%. Earnings also declined from 11 cents reported in the year-ago quarter. Revenues, on the other hand, increased 7% year over year to $211.1 million but came in line with the Zacks Consensus Estimate. Non-GAAP revenues of $208.5 million were also within management’s guidance range of $204–$210 million. (Read more: SINA Misses Q4 Earnings Estimates, Revenues In Line)
3. Scientific Games reported fourth-quarter results on Mar 11. The company incurred loss per share of 55 cents, narrower than the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 61 cents loss. In addition, the company’s revenues of $586 million beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $478 million.
4. On Mar 9, International Game Technology IGT announced that one of its lucky players won $1.2 million jackpot at the Riverside Resort Hotel & Casino on Feb 28 from its popular Wheel of Fortune, Casino Slot game. The latest jackpot represented the second million-dollar-plus jackpot paid at the Riverside Resort since Dec 2014.
5. Glu Mobile, Inc. GLUU announced that on Feb 10, its Compensation Committee awarded restricted stock units covering an aggregate of 47,900 shares of Glu's common stock to 10 newly hired employees in keeping with its Equity Inducement Plan. Glu's Compensation Committee initiated the plan in 2008, a non-stockholder approved plan, to grant equity awards as an inducement material to new employees.
Performance
The following table shows that the price movements of the major video game companies
over both the past 5 trading days as well as 6 months:
|
Company |
Last 5 Days |
Last 6 Months |
|
ATVI |
-1.21% |
-1.37% |
|
EA |
-2.31% |
51.67% |
|
GLUU |
-4.23% |
-5.16% |
|
MSFT |
-3.16% |
-8.07% |
|
NTES |
-5.89% |
14.89% |
|
TTWO |
-1.37% |
5.44% |
|
ZNGA |
5.51% |
-13.01% |
Over the last 5 trading sessions, the company that gained the maximum was Zynga with 5.5% stock price hike. Meanwhile, the company that lost the most was NetEase, Inc. NTES registering 5.9% share price decline. Off late, the stock has been trading downward given China’s decision to suspend online lottery sales effective Mar 1.
Over the 6-month period, Electronic Arts EA surged the most — nearly 51.7%. We believe that the continued growth in the company’s mobile gaming audience makes it one of the most consistently performing video game makers in the current times. In addition, strategic collaborations with the likes of Google, Apple and Facebook in developing its gaming platform will further add to bottom-line growth over the long term.
Over the 6-month period, the stock that lost the most was Zynga with 13% share price decline.
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