Joystiq

Zynga shares close at record low following lackluster Facebook IPO

Jordan Mallory — Sat, 19 May 2012 13:30:00 EST

Facebook went public yesterday, and its unexpectedly less-than-stellar performance on the trading floor has had powerful ramifications for its social soul sister Zynga, which finished the day's trading at a record low of $7.16 a share.

It's possible that Facebook's unimpressive IPO, closing out Friday at $38.23 a share - four dollars less than its $42.05 opening price - caused Zynga's value to drop in tandem, as the two platforms are inexorably intertwined in the public mindset. It's also possible that Zynga share holders jumped ship in favor of that new Facebook hotness, no longer having to settle for social second best.

Regardless, the severe downturn in value lead to two trading halts on Zynga shares over the course of the day; once after reaching $7.17 a share, and once again after a slight increase in market value. Despite this, share values eventually dropped to as little as $6.93 before finally settling at $7.16.

Zynga shares close at record low following lackluster Facebook IPO originally appeared on Joystiq on Sat, 19 May 2012 13:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Zynga executives unloading 20 million shares in secondary offering

Jordan Mallory — Sat, 31 Mar 2012 20:00:00 EST

Zynga is prepping for its upcoming secondary stock offering, which will put 43 million shares of the company up for sale -- 20.2 million of which are "Class B" shares that currently belong to the high ranking Zynga executives.

In descending order of shares being sold, cofounder Mark Pincus is unloading the most at 16.5 million shares, roughly 15 percent of his ownership of the company. Directors Reid Hoffman and Owen Van Natta come in second and third, selling 687,626 shares and 505,627 shares respectively. CFO David Wehner is selling more than 50 percent of his ownership in the company by offering 386,865 shares, followed closely by COO John Schappert whose 322,350 buyable shares make up nearly 45 percent of his total stake.

It's easy to read into things like this and infer all kinds of assumptions, both positive and negative, about what it means for the company. So instead of doing that, let's all forget the stock market even exists and watch cat videos.

Zynga executives unloading 20 million shares in secondary offering originally appeared on Joystiq on Sat, 31 Mar 2012 20:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Report: Rovio mulling Hong Kong IPO in 2013

Jordan Mallory — Sat, 17 Dec 2011 16:30:00 EST

Finnish ~~school for agitated ornithological research~~ mobile mogul Rovio may be looking to capitalize on its world-wide brand recognition and ridiculous, un-ending revenue stream by listing its stock on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange in 2013, assuming the world still exists in 2013, that is.

The financial liquidity inherent in Asia's increasingly prosperous business climate makes for an excellent pro-IPO opportunity, according to Finnish outlet Tekniikka & Talous. While no official announcements have been made as of yet, an IPO in Rovio's immediate future makes sense considering that the developer is currently valued between $2.6 and $9.1 billion and recently turned down $2.25 billion from Zynga.

Report: Rovio mulling Hong Kong IPO in 2013 originally appeared on Joystiq on Sat, 17 Dec 2011 16:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Nintendo shares drop 5 percent following TGS showcase

Griffin McElroy — Tue, 13 Sep 2011 11:38:00 EST

It seems Japanese investors weren't too thrilled by the presentation Nintendo put together for last night's Tokyo Game Show press conference. Despite revealing a new Mario Tennis, another Monster Hunter title, a firmware update and a different 3DS color, Nintendo's share price dropped to ¥12,290 by the end of trading yesterday -- a five percent day-to-day drop which some investors chalk up to a lineup that doesn't compete with the cheaper offerings of iOS and Android titles.

Speaking to Reuters, Ichiyoshi Investment manager Mitsushige Akino said, "Nintendo succeeded by pulling in people who weren't gamers and their needs now are no longer being filled by Nintendo, they are happy playing games on their mobile phones." We suppose Nintendo could combat further losses by making 3DS games cost 99 cents. Whatever they do, they should do it quickly, as Nintendo's stock has fallen 84 percent from its all time high of ¥70,500 in November 2007.

Nintendo shares drop 5 percent following TGS showcase originally appeared on Joystiq on Tue, 13 Sep 2011 11:38:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Zynga reveals intent to go public

Justin McElroy — Fri, 01 Jul 2011 12:37:00 EST

Zynga today announced the launch of its new, sure-to-be-massive 'Ville social game, in which players from disparate backgrounds will be able to log on, buy a portion of a company through microtransactions and watch their profits grow!

This new venture differs from other Zynga hits like FarmVille and FrontierVille in just a few key ways.

1. It doesn't actually have "Ville" in the title.
2. Players play with actual, totally real money.
3. Players' company won't necessarily grow. In fact, it may shrink through no fault of their own.
4. The company is Zynga, which made almost $600 million in revenue in 2010.
5. It's not a game, but a stock offering.

OK, so maybe Zynga's filing of an S-1 form, detailing its intent to become a publicly traded company at some point in the future, isn't a new game announcement. But if you guys know of a better way to trick you into reading a story involving both the stock market and casual games, we'd love to hear it.

Continue reading Zynga reveals intent to go public

Zynga reveals intent to go public originally appeared on Joystiq on Fri, 01 Jul 2011 12:37:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Majesco threatened with Nasdaq delisting, again

Alexander Sliwinski — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 11:10:00 EST

Majesco, publisher of Cooking Mama and ... other stuff, has received a delisting notice from the Nasdaq stock market. The company now has 180 calendar days to bring its stock above $1 per share, the minimum required to remain on the exchange. The trick, though, is it can't just pop its fiscally hurting head above a buck for a day and everything will go back to being right with the world again. The company needs to hold the price for "a minimum of 10 consecutive trading days prior to August 30, 2010."

This is not the first time Majesco was threatened with being kicked from the exchange. The company came back from the brink of that potential delisting disaster early last year. If you're curious to see what happens after a company is delisted, here are two case studies: Midway and Atari.

Majesco threatened with Nasdaq delisting, again originally appeared on Joystiq on Mon, 08 Mar 2010 11:10:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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GameStop reveals 2010 capital allocation program

Ben Gilbert — Tue, 12 Jan 2010 18:30:00 EST

We know, we know -- you've been sitting around all day worried sick about GameStop. Ever since the recent announcement of a cut profit forecast and the resultant drop in share prices, we've been in exactly the same boat. Good thing then that the company has announced plans to repurchase $300 million in stock from investors as part of its 2010 "Capital Allocation Strategy," with intentions to increase earnings per share by 10 percent.

Wedbush Morgan analyst Michael Pachter sees the announcement as "positive," echoing the company's statement of continued financial growth in 2010. "We believe that industry sales will rebound in 2010 and that GameStop is well-positioned to gain share the first half of the year. The company has high exposure to the hardcore software releases, which we expect to drive market growth in 2010, and comparatively low exposure to hardware, which we expect to decline," he says. It certainly doesn't hurt that GameStop plans to open 400 new stores over the course of the year -- the financials even leave $100 million on the side, reserved for "acquisition activity." It would appear that, at least for now, we can all can stop worrying. Finally.

GameStop reveals 2010 capital allocation program originally appeared on Joystiq on Tue, 12 Jan 2010 18:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Analyst: Nintendo profits have peaked, stock set to decline

Griffin McElroy — Wed, 18 Mar 2009 14:25:00 EST

Though Nintendo is currently making money faster than a brothel in shore leave season, Deutsche Bank analyst Satoru Kikuchi has given the company's stock a "sell" rating, usually reserved for companies who are facing an economic decline. Kikuchi foresees a slow trailing off for Nintendo's stock value -- he predicts an 18 percent decline over the next year, and an additional 19 percent drop sometime in 2011.

The analyst referenced declining DS and Wii sales in Japan as evidence for his claims, adding that Nintendo's dependence on its few ridiculously successful titles (we assume he's talking about Wii Fit and Wii Play) will ultimately bring it down unless it introduces additional power sellers. Don't fret, Mr. Kikuchi -- we're sure Nintendo's got a Wii Fit 2 or Wii Play Again hidden somewhere up its gilded sleeves.

Analyst: Nintendo profits have peaked, stock set to decline originally appeared on Joystiq on Wed, 18 Mar 2009 14:25:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Publisher stocks hit by market freefall; analysts optimistic

Ross Miller — Tue, 30 Sep 2008 17:40:00 EST

Filed under: Culture, Business

If you haven't looked out your window today, you might have missed stocks that are falling faster than Chicken Little can blink. Game publishers were not immune, as the NASDAQ (where most publishers are listed) Composite Index fell 199.61 points, or 9.14 percent. As for the individual publishers, Gamespot points out that Electronic Arts saw a 9.16 percent drop to $36 a share. Activision Blizzard was hit hard with a 13.8 percent drop to $14.12 a share. As for the console makers, Sony and Microsoft saw a 5.09 and 8.72 respective percent drop. Overseas, Ubisoft's stock dropped a whopping 21.5% to €45.50 (US $65.37) on the Euronext market.

Despite these stock drops, analysts speaking to Gamasutra remain optimistic, with Wedbush Morgan's Michael Pachter expecting none of the companies to be affected by the lending crisis. Lazard Capital Markets' Colin Sebastian predicts a "cocooning" effect where people flock to games as a cost-efficient form of escapism. In what is surely the most "no duh" prediction, Sebastian expects World of Warcraft to continue serving as an unwavering money stream for Activision Blizzard.

[Image Source: Digg]

Publisher stocks hit by market freefall; analysts optimistic originally appeared on Joystiq on Tue, 30 Sep 2008 17:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Nintendo stock rating downgraded because of demand worries

Candace Savino — Fri, 21 Mar 2008 18:00:00 EST

Filed under: News

Nintendo stockholders have been profiting from their investments over the past year, but that might change in the near future. At least, that's what KBC Securities Japan thinks, and the company has thus downgraded Nintendo's stock investment rating from "buy" to "hold."

One reason for the downgrade is the fear that Nintendo's sales will stall. Now that the Wii and DS have been around for a while, KBC is worried that demand for Nintendo's products will lessen in the coming months. The weakening dollar will also make overseas sales drop in value.

Since economics is like alien speak to us, we're not sure how much weight KBC's rationale holds. It's true that Nintendo will have a hard time showing up the numbers of Wii Sports, Wii Play, and Wii Fit, especially in Japan -- the casual market is a key area when it comes to Nintendo's more explosive sales. Also, the DS is no longer the dominating force in Japan like it used to be, while the PSP has increased in popularity. Yet, even so, demand for Nintendo consoles and games is still high worldwide, so KBC might be jumping the gun.

[Via Joystiq]

Nintendo stock rating downgraded because of demand worries originally appeared on Joystiq on Fri, 21 Mar 2008 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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WSJ: Strong PS3 projections makes Sony stock a "bargain"

Kyle Orland — Wed, 12 Mar 2008 13:30:00 EST

Filed under: Sony PlayStation 2, Sony PlayStation 3, Sony PSP, Business

Just as every cloud has a silver lining, every drop in stock value hides within it an opportunity for profit. At least that's what the Wall Street Journal seems to be saying with an article that argues the precipitous 26% drop in Sony stock this year could actually be an opportunity for bargain hunters.

The Journal was heartened by the Sony video game unit's quarterly profit over the holidays -- its first in two years -- and sees increasing demand for the PS3 as a good reason to buy low in anticipation of selling high. Sony itself predicts sales of 9.5 million PS3s this year, and the Journal cites analysts predicting a whopping 14 million systems sold in '09. Pretty optimistic, considering the company only moved 3.6 million units in 2007, but with things looking up for the troubled system, it could happen.

WSJ: Strong PS3 projections makes Sony stock a "bargain" originally appeared on Joystiq on Wed, 12 Mar 2008 13:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Nintendo shares hit 7-month low on recession fears

Kyle Orland — Wed, 06 Feb 2008 15:05:00 EST

Filed under: Nintendo DS, Nintendo Wii, Business

Seems the money-market-fueled stock dip Nintendo suffered last week isn't over yet. Bloomberg is reporting that the company's stock tumbled down 5.9 percent today to its lowest point since early July '07.

The reason for the precipitous fall isn't so much Nintendo's recent performance -- the company is still more profitable than a solid-gold hippopotamus that periodically spits out smaller golden hippopatami. According to Bloomberg, the stock sell-off for Nintendo and other export-based Japanese companies seems to be based on the recently reported rapid contraction of the U.S. service industry, which has also caused problems for the U.S. stock market. Traders are reading the contraction as a strong sign of a long-predicted U.S. recession, which means less money to go around for non-essentials like video games.

Will less discretionary spending mean tougher times ahead for the games industry, or is huge growth last year indicative of a somewhat recession-proof sector? We'll see, but in the meantime we'd recommend stuffing your mattress with small bills and loading up on canned goods. You know, just in case.

Nintendo shares hit 7-month low on recession fears originally appeared on Joystiq on Wed, 06 Feb 2008 15:05:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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