Opinions
Cameron Hurst
Electronic Arts Inc
EA-Q
COMMENT
Mar 02, 2016
Stock price when the opinion was issued
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Premium contentPremium contentPremium contentPremium contentThis pick results from his looking at the application layer 12 months down the road. Model training algorithms are already being monetized in healthcare, education, and now sports/entertainment. Investor day last week saw a lot of AI tools. Yield is 0.5%.
12-month price target of $167.50. Buy 1/3 here around $141, $134, and $125.
Likes the portfolio, though a bit weak in mobile. Discretionary spend on some titles has been a bit lower. Over the long term, can grow 5-6%. 30% free cashflow margins, enough to buy back 5-6% of shares every year. In-game transactions are 99% gross margins. Yield is 0.6%.
(Analysts’ price target is $146.38)They have a lot of sports titles. They lost FIFA, but have their own soccer franchise, plus baseball and basketball. Sports are steady as opposed to companies depending on a few hit games. Ultimately, someone will buy them out, like Netflix or Amazon or Apple, who could pay twice the multiple.
This owns the licensing for the gaming side of Star Wars, and there was a lot of hype. Stock hasn’t done horribly, but it was felt that the big pop in numbers had been had. Any time a company says that the best is over, the stock can tail off. He likes the space. He would suggest you look at Take Two Interactive (TTWO-Q), which has a slightly different take on it, but are firing on all cylinders and the franchise is in great shape.