| Activision (ATVI) 27.40 +1.84: Shares of Activision are bidding up strongly in early trade activity -- they are also well within striking distance of tagging a new 52-week high. The catalyst? Management guided analysts higher this morning, raising its projections for both fiscal 2002 and 2003. For the company's third and fourth quarters, Activision expects EPS of $0.58 and $0.10 versus the current consensus EPS estimates of $0.54 and $0.08 respectively. For fiscal 2003, management is projecting $0.85 per share which is a penny above the current consensus estimate. To help explain its improved outlook, Activision cited the strong debuts of the Xbox video game system and Nintendo GameCube, both of which have exceeded management's expectations. The company also indicated that the PlayStation 2 computer entertainment system, the PlayStation game console and Nintendo handheld devices continue to perform very strongly. For this year's Thanksgiving week, U.S. retail sales of Activision's front-line games were up 44% versus the same period last year. Its highly anticipated personal computer game, Return to Castle Wolfenstein, has received critical acclaim both in the U.S. and in Europe, and appears to be selling strongly. According to NPD Intellect's U.S. PC sales report for the week ending November 24, 2001, the title achieved #1 position for premium-priced software. In addition, Activision achieved record market share for the month of October without the benefit of several key holiday titles. Names missing from the lineup included Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3 on several different platforms and Return to Castle Wolfenstein for the personal computer -- each of those titles has now shipped. From a technical perspective, the picture is relatively straight forward. Following more than six months of consolidation, ATVI is poised to make a break of its 52-week high at 27.43. A close above that level is likely to lead to subsequent upside over the near term. On an intermediate-term basis, Briefing.com places ATVI's swing target at 33.00. -- Mike Ashbaugh, Briefing.com |
