Zynga
ZNGA
recently announced the availability of
FarmVille 3
in Japan, the latest title in its hit franchise
FarmVille
. Originally released on Nov 4, 2021, in most countries globally,
FarmVille 3
Japan version was customized for local players.
Zynga’s
FarmVille
, launched in 2009 on Facebook, has been a hit strategy simulation game.
FarmVille 2: Country Escape
, a mobile game, followed by
FarmVille 2: Tropic Escape
, were launched in 2014. The games garnered a significant player base, with almost 700 million installs as of Oct 6, 2021, per Bernard Kim, president of Publishing at Zynga.
The third title in the franchise –
FarmVille 3
– was launched with more than 150 breeds of animals, ranging from chicken and cows to exotic new pets such as friendly tigers and fluffy alpacas, which players can collect, breed and nurture. The much-anticipated animal nurturing feature attracted players. The Japan launch is expected to further drive user base.
Zynga is benefiting from robust performance of five popular franchises —
CSR Racing
,
Words With Friends
,
Zynga Poker
,
Empires & Puzzles
, and
Merge Dragons!
. The acquisition of StarLark expands Zynga’s mobile-gaming portfolio.
In fourth-quarter 2021, revenues increased 12.9% year over year to $695.4 million on broad-based strength in live services. Zynga’s online game or user-pay revenues (76.8% of total revenues) increased 7.1% year over year to $534 million. Mobile revenues (96.9% of total revenues) and mobile bookings increased 13.5% and 2.3% year over year to $673.9 million and $695 million, respectively.
Growth in advertising, particularly from Rollic’s hyper-casual portfolio, and contributions from
Chartboost
as well as
FarmVille 3
and
Golf Rival
, drove the top line.
Markedly, Zynga has agreed to be acquired by
Take Two Interactive
TTWO
in a cash-and-stock deal, implying an enterprise value of $12.7 billion.
Zynga shares are up 40% year to date against the Zacks
Gaming
industry’s decline of 26.5% and the Zacks
Consumer Discretionary
sector’s fall of 14.4%. Year to date, Take Two shares are down 21.7%.
The acquisition, once completed, will establish Take-Two Interactive as one of the largest publishers of mobile games in the lucrative and fast-growing industry of interactive entertainment. The deal would unify Take Two’s top-class portfolio of PC and console games, and Zynga’s leading mobile franchises.
The strategic acquisition is anticipated to close during first-quarter fiscal 2023, ending on June 30, 2022.
Zacks Rank & Stocks to Consider
Zynga currently has a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).
A couple of better-ranked stocks in the broader Consumer Discretionary sector are
Target Hospitality
TH
and
Funko
FNKO
, both sporting a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) at present. You can see
the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here
.
The Target Hospitality stock has surged 64.1% year to date. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for first-quarter 2022 earnings stands at 1 cent per share, unchanged over the past 30 days.
Funko’s shares have declined 9.4% year to date. The consensus mark for first-quarter 2022 earnings is pegged at 20 cents per share, unchanged over the past 30 days.
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