Zynga shares have been upgraded by Vetr analysts from a Buy to Strong Buy, in a note released on Tuesday. The analysts have given the game maker a price target of $3.83. In contrast, on Tuesday, Zacks lowered the rating on Zynga from Strong-buy to Hold.
Positive signs for Zynga
Zynga has been struggling over the past two years, however, some signs of a near-term rebound may be visible. The game maker was the king of web-based games, but a shift to mobile devices caught the game maker by surprise, which was the primary reason for the decline in the stock.
To win back the lost ground, Zynga has been developing attractive mobile titles. Recent games from the firm include Empires and Allies, Farmville Harvest Swap, Dawn of Titans and Mountain Goat Mountain. The last two games are still not globally available, but the company is testing them in some of the regions.
Also, the quality of these games is comparatively better. Empires and Allies and Farmville Harvest Swap are the two games from Zynga that are globally available, and both are earning well considering almost there was almost no paid marketing. In its latest earnings call, Zynga CEO Mark Pincus said that the company plans to come up with five to eight titles in 2015.
Another measure suggesting a bounce back in the stock is the declining short interest. For Zynga, short interest has come down sharply recently, suggesting there are fewer people betting against the stock.
Analysts consider it a Hold
Many analysts have come out with a rating on the game maker in recent months. In a research note on May 14th, Sterne Agee CRT analysts reiterated a Hold on Zynga. Piper Jaffray analysts, in a research note May 10th, held their Neutral rating on the stock with a price target of $3, up from $2.50 previously. Analysts at Benchmark Co. maintained a Hold on the game maker with a price target of $2.54, in a note on May 10th. Separately, Credit Suisse reiterated its Underperform rating with a price target of $2.92, in a note on May 10th. Zynga presently has an average rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $3.52.
Zynga shares sport a 52-week low of $2.20 and a 52-week high of $3.27. As of around 1 pm EDT Wednesday, the stock was down 2.82% at $2.77, and year to date, the stock is up almost 2%.
