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Once-hot Zynga ( ZNGA ), a maker of mobile and social video games, saw its stock crater to a new low Thursday after reporting that its user base continued to shrink last quarter. Zynga went public in December 2011 at 10 and reached as high as 15.91 in March 2012. It initially rode on the coattails of Facebook ( FB ), providing games like “FarmVille” for the booming social network. But its fortunes turned south after Facebook ended a partnership with Zynga. Zynga stock was down 15% to 1.80 in late-afternoon trading on the stock market today . Earlier in the session, shares hit an all-time low of 1.78. Zynga, named after the founder’s dog, is certainly acting like one. Late Wednesday, Zynga said it broke even in the December quarter on sales of $182.1 million. Earnings were in line, and sales were better than the $178 million expected by analysts polled by Thomson Reuters. Zynga’s sales were down a smidge from $182.35 million in the year-earlier quarter. But Zynga reported a drop in monthly active users for the sixth consecutive quarter. “Users continue to flee,” Pacific Crest Securities analyst Evan Wilson said in a research report Wednesday. Zynga had 18 million daily active users and 68 monthly active users in Q4. Both numbers missed consensus views. Analysts were expecting 18.7 million daily active users and 74.8 million monthly active users. “A successful turnaround effort needs to include stabilizing the user base, in our view, and we are still not confident Zynga has the (game) slate to do this,” Wilson said. He rates the stock as sector weight. Zynga has an ambitious slate of 10 games to be launched this year. They include new social casino and matching games, as well as racing game “CSR2” and action strategy game “Dawn of Titans.” However, Zynga has “consistently overpromised and underdelivered,” Wilson said. Fox Business Network on Thursday put Zynga on its “ death watch .” Baird analyst Colin Sebastian on Thursday reiterated his neutral rating and price target of 3 for Zynga stock. Sebastian noted that the company is likely to face heightened competition ahead from well-capitalized video game publishers like Activision Blizzard ( ATVI ) and Electronic Arts ( EA ). “EA has acquired a number of social game companies and is in the process of porting a number of its legacy franchises from consoles onto emerging platforms,” Sebastian said. “We also believe that Activision is rethinking its online and social strategy, and will come to market with new online games, and may also pursue acquisitions of game developers.” Activision is in the process of purchasing mobile game publisher King Digital Entertainment ( KING ). RELATED: Taylor Swift Video Game In Glu Mobile Investors’ ‘Wildest Dreams’ . Scalper1 News
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