5 Best Gaming Stocks to Buy Now

2. Activision Blizzard, Inc. (NASDAQ: ATVI)

Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 76

Activision Blizzard, Inc. (NASDAQ: ATVI) is a developer of interactive entertainment content and services in the US, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and the Asia Pacific. The company ranks 2nd on our list of the best gaming stocks to buy now.

This June, MoffettNathanson upgraded Activision Blizzard, Inc. (NASDAQ: ATVI) to Buy with a $124 price target indicating a 34% upside, in light of the company’s stable cash flows and net cash position. The stock was also upgraded to Outperform at BMO Capital markets this May. In the first quarter of 2021, Activision Blizzard, Inc. (NASDAQ: ATVI) had an EPS of $0.84, beating estimates by $0.15. The company’s revenue was $2.07 billion, up 35.74% year over year, and beat estimates by $285.55 million. Activision Blizzard, Inc. (NASDAQ: ATVI) has a gross profit margin of 72.79% and has gained 2.97% in the past 6 months and 6.35% year to date.

By the end of the first quarter of 2021, 76 hedge funds held stakes in Activision Blizzard, Inc. (NASDAQ: ATVI) worth roughly $35.8 billion. This is compared to 81 hedge fund holders in the previous quarter with a total stake value of approximately $37.3 billion.

Cooper Investors, an investment management firm, mentioned Activision Blizzard, Inc. (NASDAQ: ATVI) in their first-quarter 2021 investor letter. Here’s what they said:

“The portfolio established a position in video game publisher Activision Blizzard. As a watchlist company we have followed Activision for several years. As a reminder the role of the watchlist is to allow us to focus on a select group of companies where we seek to observe important signals around either value latency, industry trends or management behaviour that portend attractive investment propositions.

Technology can often play a disruptive role in content, however video games are a clear beneficiary of technology, both in terms of more immersive and realistic gaming experiences as well as the monetisation opportunities this creates.

In order to benefit from these trends, video game publishers must be owners of unique IP. Activision Blizzard fits this bill perfectly boasting a portfolio which includes franchises such as Call of Duty, World of Warcraft and Diablo just to name a few.” (Click here to see the full text)