Zynga Inc (NASDAQ:ZNGA)’s stock price hit rock bottom, after Facebook Inc (NASDAQ:FB) made significant changes to the way games appear in its site. According to Reuters, analysts cut their prospects on Zynga stock price, after Facebook’s strategy changes impacted negatively on the company’s quarterly results.
Doug Anmuth, JPMorgan & Chase Co. (NYSE:JPM) analyst, is quoted as saying, “the biggest factor impacting current performance appears to be the way Facebook Inc (NASDAQ:FB) is surfacing gaming content on its platform”, referring to the chnages Facebook is making on how it showcases the gaming content.
Facebook has changed the way people find games they are looking for, by displaying new games first, while the older games are pushed further behind, regardless of their popularity. Consequently, this has affected older, popular Zynga games, eliciting a bearish outlook for the company’s future performance. Zynga reported its below-par results yesterday, and its stock was down 39% in today’s premarket trading, after yesterday’s close of $3.20 per share.
The latest debacle from the social media giant, spooked Facebook investors who have been eagerly waiting for the company’s announcement of its first ever results, since its listing at NASDAQ stock exchange.
Additionally, investors are well aware that, approximately 90% of Zynga’s revenues are reliant on Facebook. This is because because its core revenues emanate from some of its oldest, and most popular games, such as “FarmVille” and “Hidden Chronicles.”
Analysts from Piper Jaffray expressed that Zynga, which is building up on its mobile platform games, needed a strong foundation on its web-based games, accessible via Facebook. However, Facebook’s actions have just increased the pressure on the gaming company, by changing the way games appear on its website.
Statistically, FarmVille, which contributed 29% of Zynga’s Q2 revenues, has now shrunk to a mere 20 million users this month, from a whopping 80 million, the report notes.
The world is becoming more mobile each day, and game developers are not being left behind; they are opting for mobile platform games as depicted by the deteriorating trends in games on Facebook, notes Reuters.
The writer also quoted analysts from Robert W. Baird & Co as saying, “users show some fatigue for “management style” games, and there is a broader shift from desktop to mobile Facebook access that impacts social game monetization.”
Analysts’ Grading of Zynga:
Citi Investment Research, Stifel Nicolaus, J.P.Morgan Securities, Lazard Capital Markets, and Goldman Sachs, all moved Zynga Inc (NASDAQ:ZNGA) Stock to a Neutral position, as Goldman Sachs delisted it from its America’s Buy List.
The report also highlighted that several other analysts have slashed the company’s stock price to as low as $3.00 per share; at the time of this writing Zynga’s stock was trading at $3.06, or 39.84% low.
