Zynga Inc (NASDAQ:ZNGA) is garnering the confidence of analysts since the arrival of CEO Don Mattrick and his new transition plans. Investors are still not enthusiastic about the stock and are not paying much attention, but the recent moves made by the social gaming company seems to be striking the right chord and analysts expect the company to rebound.
Analysts expect revival
After the IPO in 2011, analysts were anticipating Zynga’s market cap to be somewhere in the range of $15 billion to $20 billion, according to a report from CNBC. However, it dropped to just $7 billion, and the stock had a steep decline after trading for just five days. Zynga Inc (NASDAQ:ZNGA) has a current market cap of around $3 billion.
John Taylor, managing director of Arcadia Investment Corp, says that Mattrick has laid the foundation for a turnaround. Taylor added that to successfully implement the strategy, the company needs to retain its players. Mattrick has tried to change the culture of the organization by hiring fresh people and letting go of non-performers. He has set achievable targets for people.
Michael Pachter, managing director of equity research at Wedbush Securities, said that expectations have become higher as the company is now implementing the plans set out by Mattrick. Pachter said that the firm is expecting Zynga to hit its $7 price target within 12 months.
Zynga moving ahead with Mattrick
Prior to joining Zynga Inc (NASDAQ:ZNGA), Mattrick headed Microsoft’s Xbox division. Mark Pincus stepped down from the post of chief product officer and does not head its day-to-day operation anymore. He is still the chairman of the board.
Since his arrival, Mattrick has hired number of gaming experts including Alex Garden, who previously worked as general manager of Xbox Live and is president at Zynga now. Another recruit, David Lee, previously worked as senior vice president of enterprise finance at Best Buy and joined Zynga Inc (NASDAQ:ZNGA) as CFO.
For the first quarter, bookings were better than expected at $161 million. Second quarter guidance was also higher than expected. A few analysts anticipate the stock price to double next year.
Zynga Inc (NASDAQ:ZNGA) is moving ahead and executing its plans along with laying off 300 people, 15% of its workforce, at the end of January. Additionally, the company recently acquired developer NaturalMotion for $527 million. These efforts should help propel shares higher.
