Activision Blizzard Shares Back to High $10 Range

Activision Blizzard, Inc. (NASDAQ:ATVI) shares got as low as $10.88 today after its Q2 earnings and outlook missed analyst expectations, prepare for more pain.

Activision Blizzard (ATVI) shares have traded between $9.93 and $13 over the past 12 months.  Activision Blizzard Inc shares are now trading with a P/E Ratio of 51.2 and EPS of 0.23.
Thanks to today's nosedive ATVI shares are now just 9.73% from its 52-week low.

(StreetInsider) The video game publisher behind "World of Warcraft" and "Call of Duty" reported second-quarter earnings of $219 million or 17 cents per share, compared to $195 million or 15 cents per share in the same quarter last year.

Excluding one-time items, the company earned 6 cents per share in the quarter, a penny better than the analyst estimate of 5 cents per share.

Revenue for Activision fell 7 percent to $967 million in the three month period ended in June, while the company's non-GAAP revenue, which excludes deferred sales was $683 million. The Street was looking for non-GAAP revenue of $720 million from the company.

"For the first and second quarters, we outperformed our earnings per share outlook, and we grew our operating margin year over year for the six month period, driven by our focused effort to increase digital revenues," Robert Kotick, CEO of Activision Blizzard, stated. "There are clearly more opportunities than ever before to create great games and we are at the forefront of doing so."

Looking forward, the company is looking for earnings in the third quarter of about 8 cents per share on sales of about $725 million, well off the market consensus of 12 cents per share and $911.9 million respectively. This timid outlook comes despite the recent release of the much anticipated "StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty."

SOURCE: http://www.streetinsider.com/Earnings/Activision+(ATVI)+Q2+Sales+and+Outlook+Fall+Short,+Shares+Slump/5870768.html