Zynga Inc (NASDAQ:ZNGA) might be showing some signs of recovery, which is the reason why the stock was recently added to the ‘Best Ideas List’ by Wedbush analyst Michael Pachter, who has an Outperform rating on the game maker with a price target of $7. The analyst expects Zynga to produce at least in-line results for the first quarter and reiterate full-year guidance when the company announces its performance results on April 23.
“We believe management has undertaken an “under-promise and over-deliver” approach to guidance, strengthening our belief that it will avoid a miss,” says Pachter.
Zynga working on many fronts
For the first quarter, the analyst expects bookings of around $150 million and EPS of $0.00 compared to the consensus estimate of $148 million and $0.01. The guidance given by Zynga Inc (NASDAQ:ZNGA) include bookings of $138-148 million and $0.01 EPS.
For the year, the analyst expects bookings of $820 million and EPS of $0.04 against the consensus estimate of $788 million and $0.01. Zynga had given guidance of $760-810 million as bookings and EPS of $0.01-0.03.
The analyst notes that Zynga Inc (NASDAQ:ZNGA) is making efforts to develop more of “play anywhere” free-to-play market games for mobile, and make its games compatible with multiple platforms. Zynga is primarily targeting the top 20 mobile markets, and plans to channelize its new games towards the highest revenue genres in such markets.
Pachter expects Zynga Inc (NASDAQ:ZNGA) to expand its operations profitably, and believes that the current employee count of the game maker suggests that the new products are in the pipeline.
Verdicts of other analysts
In recent months, a number of other analysts have come out with their verdict on the game maker. In a research note on February 5th, analysts at Zacks raised the rating on Zynga shares from Neutral to Outperform with a price target of $4.80. UBS AG analysts, in a note released on February 4th, upgraded the stock from Neutral to Buy, and also raised the price target from $4 previously to $6. In a note on February 3rd, analysts at Bank of America lowered the rating on Zynga Inc (NASDAQ:ZNGA) from a Neutral to Underperform. Analysts also lowered the price target from $4.40 to $3.80.
At around 10 a.m. EDT, Zynga Inc (NASDAQ:ZNGA) shares were trading up 0.48% at $4.22.
