Tag Archives: stocks

Disney’s Exit From Toys-To-Life Video Games Could Boost Activision

Walt Disney ‘s ( DIS ) decision to end its Infinity interactive toy and video game product line could provide a lift to rivals in the toys-to-life business, namely Activision Blizzard ( ATVI ) and Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment, a unit of Time Warner ( TWX ). Disney announced Tuesday that it is getting out of the self-published video game business and canceling its Infinity game series. Disney took a $147 million charge to its fiscal-second-quarter results to close the division. Disney’s Infinity exit leaves Activision’s Skylanders, Warner’s Lego Dimensions and Nintendo ‘s ( NTDOY ) Amiibo in the toys-to-life games segment. The toys-to-life genre involves the use of figurines or action figures that are placed on a small platform to interact with on-screen play for game consoles. “Disney’s announcement that they are exiting the toys-to-life category in a production capacity creates some interesting opportunities,” Cowen analyst Doug Creutz said in a report Thursday. “First, we think it paves the way for a significant bounce back in Skylanders sales this year; second, we suspect the Disney IP (intellectual property) will eventually wind up as part of WB’s Lego Dimensions franchise.” Toys-to-life video game sales, excluding sales of stand-alone toys, peaked in 2013 with the launch of Infinity, Creutz said. The category declined 20% in 2014 and was flat in 2015, he said. Nintendo launched Amiibo toys in 2014, but it doesn’t have a stand-alone game like Infinity, Skylanders and Lego Dimensions. Amiibo toys are integrated into existing Nintendo games. “With Activision now the only player planning to launch a toys-to-life game in 2016 (there will be some Dimensions playsets but no new game), if the category remains flat, Skylanders could grow by as much as 300%,” Creutz said. “This would be a source of surprise upside to Activision’s guidance. “In any case, the elimination of a competitor can only be a positive for both Activision and WB’s profitability from the category.” Cowen rates Activision stock outperform, with a price target of 44. Activision stock was up a fraction, above 37, in afternoon trading on the stock market today . The shares broke out of a cup-with-handle base at a 34.76 buy point on April 13. Cowen rates Disney and Time Warner stocks as market perform. Disney stock was down a fraction Thursday afternoon, while Time Warner was down more than 1%. RELATED: EA Stock Soars Like ‘Star Wars’ Millennium Falcon After Q4 Beat .

Republic Wireless Taps T-Mobile, Samsung Galaxy 7 In Wi-Fi Push

Wi-Fi calling startup Republic Wireless has added T-Mobile US ( TMUS ) as a cellular network partner and Samsung’s Galaxy S7 to its lineup of mobile phones. Republic Wireless earlier leased cellphone network access from Sprint ( S ). Users of Republic Wireless service use mobile phones that switch to cellular networks if public Wi-Fi is not available. T-Mobile stock edged down a fraction in midday trading in the stock market today , near 40.50. Shares of T-Mobile are up about 3% in 2016. T-Mobile has an IBD Composite Rating of 91 out of a possible 99, which puts it among the top 9% of all stocks in some key metrics that include revenue and earnings growth. Republic Wireless has fewer than 1 million customers, said a Bloomberg report . Alphabet ’s ( GOOGL ) Google rolled out a hybrid Wi-Fi/cellular service in early 2015, but it has not disclosed how many subscribers it has. Sprint and T-Mobile were both partners of Google in its launch. Cable-TV leader  Comcast ( CMCSA ) says it’s testing a hybrid Wi-Fi service under a network sharing agreement with Verizon Communications ( VZ ). Republic Wireless is a unit of Internet-calling service Bandwidth.com. While Republic Wireless says it will add Samsung’s Galaxy 7 and six other phones to its lineup, the Wi-Fi startup has been unable to forge a deal with Apple ( AAPL ).

SolarCity Q1 Demand Nipped By Rivals Sunrun, Vivint Solar

No. 1 residential installer SolarCity ( SCTY ) lagged rivals Sunrun ( RUN ) and Vivint Solar ( VSLR ), as March solar applications in California declined year over year, while the entire segment trailed triple-digit commercial growth, a Credit Suisse analyst said Thursday. Credit Suisse analyst Patrick Jobin’s report follows SolarCity’s Q1 earnings, released late Monday. SolarCity stock was blistered this week on Q2 guidance that missed views, while its 2016 installation outlook  was cut on Q1 bookings that fell 150 megawatts flat. Sunrun is slated to report its Q1 earnings late Thursday. In midday trading on the stock market today , SolarCity stock was down 1.5%, after its shares dove 21% on Tuesday in reaction to the company’s earnings report. Sunrun and Vivint stocks were down 3% and 1%, respectively, midday Thursday. SolarCity’s “horrendous” bookings and weak guidance appear to be self-inflicted, Jobin wrote in a research report. “We do see modest growth decelerating in California but note that all growth is not gone,” he wrote. “Sunrun, who reports this afternoon, appears to have fared better in Q1.” For Q1, Sunrun is expected to report $87.7 million in sales, down 12% quarter over quarter, and a 48-cent per-share loss minus items, widening from a 15-cent loss in the previous quarter. SolarCity and Vivint each reported March-quarter losses this week. Excluding Nevada — which accounted for 12 MW in Sunrun’s backlog — Q1 deployments are expected to be flat sequentially. SolarCity and Sunrun exited Nevada in December when regulators cut net-metering payments to solar customers. In March, SolarCity’s residential applications fell 8% year over year vs. 17% and 23% growth from Sunrun and Vivint, respectively, Jobin wrote. Total residential applications for 73 MW of solar to utility companies grew 14.5% vs. last year. The commercial segment was the main driver in March, where 41 MW in total applications were up 136% year over year. Third-party ownership also picked up in March, reaching 62% of all residential applications vs. the 60% average for the second half of 2015.