Activision Blizzard, Inc. (NASDAQ:ATVI – Get Rating) was the recipient of a significant decrease in short interest during the month of May. As of May 31st, there was short interest totalling 22,550,000 shares, a decrease of 5.8% from the May 15th total of 23,950,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 7,420,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 3.0 days. Currently, 3.1% of the shares of the stock are sold short.
Activision Blizzard Trading Up 0.6 %
Shares of ATVI opened at $81.97 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $64.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.88, a P/E/G ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 0.41. Activision Blizzard has a twelve month low of $70.94 and a twelve month high of $87.01. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $80.19 and its 200-day simple moving average is $78.56. The company has a current ratio of 5.15, a quick ratio of 5.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18.
Activision Blizzard (NASDAQ:ATVI – Get Rating) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 26th. The company reported $0.47 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.47. The company had revenue of $1.86 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.83 billion. Activision Blizzard had a net margin of 22.82% and a return on equity of 12.97%. As a group, analysts expect that Activision Blizzard will post 3.55 EPS for the current year.
Insider Buying and Selling
In related news, Director Peter J. Nolan bought 13,160 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 3rd. The stock was purchased at an average price of $75.99 per share, for a total transaction of $1,000,028.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 174,777 shares in the company, valued at $13,281,304.23. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 1.08% of the stock is owned by company insiders.
Institutional Inflows and Outflows
Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. increased its position in Activision Blizzard by 186.4% during the 1st quarter. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. now owns 338 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 220 shares during the period. Front Row Advisors LLC increased its position in Activision Blizzard by 140.4% during the 1st quarter. Front Row Advisors LLC now owns 351 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 205 shares during the period. Pin Oak Investment Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in Activision Blizzard during the 1st quarter valued at about $35,000. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC purchased a new position in Activision Blizzard during the 1st quarter valued at about $38,000. Finally, ICA Group Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Activision Blizzard during the 4th quarter valued at about $40,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.34% of the company’s stock.
Analyst Ratings Changes
A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Truist Financial upped their target price on shares of Activision Blizzard from $81.00 to $84.00 in a research report on Wednesday, April 26th. Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of Activision Blizzard from $88.00 to $91.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Sunday, March 26th. Benchmark reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $90.00 price objective on shares of Activision Blizzard in a research report on Friday, March 10th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price objective on shares of Activision Blizzard from $95.00 to $88.00 in a research report on Tuesday, May 2nd. Finally, StockNews.com started coverage on shares of Activision Blizzard in a research report on Thursday, May 18th. They set a “buy” rating for the company. Sixteen research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $91.53.
About Activision Blizzard
Activision Blizzard, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, develops and publishes interactive entertainment content and services in the Americas, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and the Asia Pacific. The company operates through three segments: Activision, Blizzard, and King. It develops and distributes content and services on video game consoles, personal computers, and mobile devices, including subscription, full-game, and in-game sales, as well as by licensing software to third-party or related-party companies that distribute Activision and Blizzard products.