Electronic Arts ( NASDAQ: EA ) shares remained down by more than 12% Wednesday as the videogame publisher showed no signs of recovering from what was largely seen as a disappointing quarterly report and outlook.
EA ( EA ) on Tuesday reported fiscal third-quarter bookings of $2.34B, down from $2.58B in the same period in 2021, and also below analysts' expectations for billings of $2.5B. EA ( EA ) also gave investors little to get enthusiastic about as it said it was pushing out the release of Star Wars Jedi: Survivor by six weeks, until April 28.
With pushing out Star Wars until the end of April, EA ( EA ) said it now expects its fiscal fourth-quarter bookings to be in a range of $1.675B to $1.775B--far below analysts' estimates for $2.24B in bookings.
The fact that EA's ( EA ) performance came during the crucial end-of-the-year Christmas and holiday shopping season, and it was delaying the release of one of its most-anticipated titles left a cloud of gloom hanging over the videogame giant.
"Pushouts, cancellation, [and] softness give little to grasp on to," said Bank of America Securities analyst Omar Dessouky, who cut his rating on EA's ( EA ) stock to neutral from buy, with a price target of $130 a share.
At Jefferies, analyst Andrew Uerkwitz left his buy rating on EA's ( EA ) stock unchanged, and said the company had suffered "a rare miss" with its fiscal third-quarter results as it "finally succumbed to the [industry] headwinds."
"Game delays, increasing game complexity, uncertain consumer behavior, and general macro [economic issues] have been wrecking havoc on the video game industry," Uerkwitz said in a research note.
Wall Street analysts and Seeking Alpha authors both have consensus buy ratings on EA's ( EA ) shares. Seeking Alpha's Quant System, which historically outperforms the stock market, gives EA ( EA ) a rating of hold .
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EA shares slump 12% on reaction to results, 'Star Wars' game delay