Benzinga - Electronic Arts Inc (NASDAQ: EA) Tuesday reported disappointing third-quarter results, which sent shares down in extended trading.
Credit Suisse on Electronic Arts
Analysts reiterated their Outperform rating and price target of $132.
“EA’s results fell below our estimates driven by Live Services — that FIFA Online 4 grew ~112% FXN (likely ~100% on reported basis) means that other parts of the portfolio likely underperformed and this suggest Apex Legends may be down ~35% YOY,” Credit Suisse analysts said in a note.
Electronic Arts also announced plans to pause the development of mobile versions of Apex Legends and Battlefield.
Bernstein on Electronic Arts
Analyst Matti Littunen maintained an Outperform rating and price target of $153.
“While core player engagement was strong, the mobile game of the year struggles to retain casual players,” Littunen said. “EA seems to be drawing the lesson that the experience of mobile games needs to be linked better to PC/console within the same franchise,” he added.
Raymond James on Electronic Arts
Analyst Andrew Marok reiterated an Outperform rating while reducing the price target from $150 to $135.
“EA reported soft F3Q23 results, while FY23 bookings guidance and FY24 growth expectations came in notably below expectations,” Marok wrote in a note.
“In the December quarter, World Cup-driven FIFA strength was more than offset by weakness in Apex and mobile titles, with new releases in F3Q (like Need for Speed: Unbound) also performing below expectations,” he added.
Check out other analyst stock ratings.
Truist Securities on Electronic Arts
Analyst Matthew Thornton maintained a Buy rating and price target of $150.
Electronic Arts’s results had pros and cons, but the cons “were clearly more pronounced,” Thornton stated. “Where we were surprised incrementally was the pushout of Star Wars Jedi and the shutdown of Apex Mobile and Battlefield Mobile,” he added.
“Net-net, this was clearly a weaker than expected print,” the analyst further wrote.
Oppenheimer on Electronic Arts
Analyst Martin Yang reaffirmed an Outperform rating and price target of $150.
“The weaker outlook is accounted for by EA's delay of Star Wars Jedi: Survivor from F4Q23 to F1Q24,” Yang said in a note. “Q3 bookings declined 9% Y/Y (5% in CC) driven by worse than expected Apex Legends performance and a weaker mobile game environment,” he added.
EA Price Action: Shares of Electronic Arts had declined by 11.81% to $113.48 at the time of publication Wednesday.
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