Analysts expect Activision Blizzard, Inc. (NASDAQ:ATVI) to report earnings of $1.31 per share for the current quarter, Zacks reports. Seven analysts released Activision Blizzard earnings estimates, with the lowest EPS estimate of $1.25 and the highest estimate of $1.39. Activision Blizzard reported earnings per share of $1.21 in the same quarter last year, suggesting a positive year-over-year growth rate of 8.3%. The company is expected to release its next quarterly results after the market closes on Thursday, February 3.

According to Zacks, analysts expect Activision Blizzard to report annual earnings of $3.79 per share for the current fiscal year, with EPS estimates ranging from $3.72 to $3.87. For the next fiscal year, analysts expect the company to post earnings of $3.74 per share, with EPS estimates ranging from $3.45 to $4.00. Zacks Investment Research’s earnings per share averages are an average based on a survey of sell-side analysts who provide coverage for Activision Blizzard.

Activision Blizzard (NASDAQ:ATVI) last released its quarterly results on Tuesday, November 2. The company reported earnings per share of $0.72 for the quarter, beating the Zacks consensus estimate of $0.70 by $0.02. The company posted revenue of $1.88 billion for the quarter, versus a consensus estimate of $1.88 billion. Activision Blizzard achieved a net margin of 29.18% and a return on equity of 16.39%. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted earnings per share of $0.66.

A number of stock analysts have weighed in on ATVI shares. Credit Suisse Group downgraded Activision Blizzard shares from an “outperforming” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered its price target for the stock from $125.00 to $95.00 in a rating of research from Wednesday, January 19. Edward Jones downgraded Activision Blizzard shares from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a Thursday, January 13 research note. Wedbush cut its price target on Activision Blizzard stock from $125.00 to $98.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a Wednesday, Nov. 3 research note. Oppenheimer cut his price target on Activision Blizzard stock from $100.00 to $85.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a Wednesday, Nov. 3 research note. Finally, Raymond James downgraded Activision Blizzard shares from an “outperforming” rating to a “market performing” rating in a Friday, Jan. 21 research note. One equity research analyst has assigned the stock a sell rating, seventeen have issued a hold rating and eleven have assigned the stock a buy rating. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $97.04.

NASDAQ: ATVI opened at $79.14 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 5.56, a current ratio of 5.56 and a leverage ratio of 0.21. The company has a market capitalization of $61.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.41, a P/E/G ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 0.71. Activision Blizzard has a fifty-two week low of $56.40 and a fifty-two week high of $104.53. The company’s 50-day moving average is $65.73 and its two-hundred-day moving average is $74.17.

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Arrow Financial Corp increased its holdings of Activision Blizzard shares by 107.8% in the fourth quarter. Arrow Financial Corp now owns 36,652 shares of the company valued at $2,438,000 after purchasing an additional 19,017 shares during the period. Moloney Securities Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in Activision Blizzard in Q4 worth approximately $593,000. RPG Investment Advisory LLC purchased a new stake in Activision Blizzard in Q4 worth approximately $8,000,000. Essex LLC increased its position in Activision Blizzard by 5.4% in the fourth quarter. Essex LLC now owns 3,146 shares of the company valued at $209,000 after purchasing an additional 160 shares in the last quarter. Finally, LVZ Inc. increased its position in Activision Blizzard by 15.8% in the 4th quarter. LVZ Inc. now owns 3,393 shares of the company valued at $226,000 after purchasing an additional 462 shares in the last quarter. 84.12% of the shares are held by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Activision Blizzard

Activision Blizzard, Inc is committed to the development and publication of interactive entertainment. It operates through the following segments: Activision Publishing, Blizzard Entertainment and King Digital Entertainment. The Activision Publishing segment develops and publishes interactive software products and entertainment content, especially for the console platform.

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