Activision Blizzard (ATVI) Coverage Initiated by Analysts at Sanford C. Bernstein

Equities research analysts at Sanford C. Bernstein began coverage on shares of Activision Blizzard (NASDAQ:ATVI) in a research note issued to investors on Thursday, MarketBeat reports. The firm set a “market perform” rating and a $74.00 price target on the stock. Sanford C. Bernstein’s price target would suggest a potential upside of 4.86% from the stock’s previous close.

Several other brokerages also recently commented on ATVI. Buckingham Research initiated coverage on shares of Activision Blizzard in a report on Wednesday, September 20th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $79.00 price target for the company. Zacks Investment Research downgraded shares of Activision Blizzard from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, January 8th. BidaskClub downgraded shares of Activision Blizzard from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 27th. Vetr raised shares of Activision Blizzard from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $62.29 price target for the company in a report on Wednesday, November 29th. Finally, Wedbush set a $75.00 price target on shares of Activision Blizzard and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 26th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-five have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. The stock presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $70.04.

Activision Blizzard (NASDAQ ATVI) traded up $0.77 during trading on Thursday, reaching $70.57. 5,150,621 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,440,000. Activision Blizzard has a fifty-two week low of $38.38 and a fifty-two week high of $71.18. The stock has a market cap of $53,360.00, a price-to-earnings ratio of 48.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.07 and a beta of 1.02. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44, a current ratio of 2.25 and a quick ratio of 2.22.

Activision Blizzard (NASDAQ:ATVI) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 2nd. The company reported $0.56 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.45 by $0.11. Activision Blizzard had a net margin of 15.90% and a return on equity of 17.56%. equities research analysts anticipate that Activision Blizzard will post 2.1 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

In other news, CEO Riccardo Zacconi sold 19,761 shares of Activision Blizzard stock in a transaction on Friday, November 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $63.64, for a total transaction of $1,257,590.04. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 41,435 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,636,923.40. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 2.12% of the company’s stock.

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Activision Blizzard by 4.7% during the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 26,680,585 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,536,010,000 after acquiring an additional 1,197,980 shares during the last quarter. Capital World Investors raised its position in Activision Blizzard by 23.8% in the 2nd quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 22,538,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,297,513,000 after purchasing an additional 4,327,000 shares during the period. Janus Henderson Group PLC raised its position in Activision Blizzard by 820.8% in the 2nd quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 20,298,735 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,168,587,000 after purchasing an additional 18,094,334 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its position in Activision Blizzard by 25.6% in the 3rd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 7,476,125 shares of the company’s stock worth $482,285,000 after purchasing an additional 1,523,740 shares during the period. Finally, Boston Partners raised its position in Activision Blizzard by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. Boston Partners now owns 6,778,871 shares of the company’s stock worth $437,305,000 after purchasing an additional 33,114 shares during the period. 86.49% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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About Activision Blizzard

Activision Blizzard, Inc is a developer and publisher of interactive entertainment content and services. The Company develops and distributes content and services across various gaming platforms, including video game consoles, personal computers (PC) and mobile devices. Its segments include Activision Publishing, Inc (Activision), Blizzard Entertainment, Inc (Blizzard), King Digital Entertainment (King) and Other.

Analyst Recommendations for Activision Blizzard (NASDAQ:ATVI)