Activision Blizzard (NASDAQ:ATVI) Sees Large Volume Increase Following Analyst Upgrade

Activision Blizzard, Inc. (NASDAQ:ATVIGet Free Report) saw strong trading volume on Wednesday after Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price target on the stock from $89.00 to $95.00. 9,582,239 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 28% from the previous session’s volume of 7,514,020 shares.The stock last traded at $89.93 and had previously closed at $90.99.

Several other brokerages have also recently issued reports on ATVI. Raymond James cut shares of Activision Blizzard to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on shares of Activision Blizzard from $95.00 to $100.00 in a report on Thursday, April 27th. Truist Financial boosted their price objective on shares of Activision Blizzard from $81.00 to $84.00 in a report on Wednesday, April 26th. Robert W. Baird cut their price objective on shares of Activision Blizzard from $95.00 to $90.00 in a report on Thursday, April 27th. Finally, Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of Activision Blizzard from $88.00 to $91.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Sunday, March 26th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Activision Blizzard presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $92.33.

Insider Buying and Selling at Activision Blizzard

In related news, Director Peter J. Nolan acquired 13,160 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 3rd. The shares were acquired at an average price of $75.99 per share, for a total transaction of $1,000,028.40. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 174,777 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,281,304.23. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 1.08% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Aristotle Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Activision Blizzard during the first quarter worth approximately $880,055,000. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Activision Blizzard in the 4th quarter worth approximately $742,922,000. Flossbach Von Storch AG boosted its stake in Activision Blizzard by 85.6% in the 4th quarter. Flossbach Von Storch AG now owns 11,427,722 shares of the company’s stock worth $874,792,000 after purchasing an additional 5,270,426 shares during the period. Boston Partners boosted its stake in Activision Blizzard by 219.4% in the 1st quarter. Boston Partners now owns 7,575,149 shares of the company’s stock worth $645,167,000 after purchasing an additional 5,203,383 shares during the period. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its stake in Activision Blizzard by 116.3% in the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 7,084,876 shares of the company’s stock worth $542,347,000 after purchasing an additional 3,809,814 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.86% of the company’s stock.

Activision Blizzard Stock Down 1.1 %

The business’s 50 day moving average is $80.56 and its 200 day moving average is $79.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18, a quick ratio of 5.15 and a current ratio of 5.15. The stock has a market cap of $70.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 0.42.

Activision Blizzard (NASDAQ:ATVIGet Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 26th. The company reported $0.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.47. The company had revenue of $1.86 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.83 billion. Activision Blizzard had a net margin of 22.82% and a return on equity of 12.97%. Equities analysts expect that Activision Blizzard, Inc. will post 3.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Activision Blizzard Company Profile

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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.

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