Smartphone gaming stocks witnessed significant gains in first-quarter 2020, owing to stringent social restrictions.

The number of U.S. fatalities from the coronavirus that causes COVID-19 climbed above 73,000 on Thursday, as President Donald Trump’s administration said it is shelving recommendations from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on reopening safely because they were too cautious

Zynga's (ZNGA) first-quarter results 2020 reflect strength in live services and robust growth in international markets, partially offset by lower advertising demand due to COVID-19-led lockdown.

Zynga to Present at the J.P. Morgan Global Technology, Media and Communications Conference

Zynga (NASDAQ: ZNGA) published its first-quarter earnings earlier this month, delivering a mixed bag of results. Zynga stock has declined roughly 3% since the earnings release. The company headed into its first-quarter earnings release with shares trading at their highest level since 2012, so it's not shocking that the stock has pulled back slightly.

The coronavirus pandemic is far from over, but these three stocks will thrive in this uncertain environment.

(Bloomberg) -- Amazon.com Inc. faces a crucial test on Wednesday with the release of its first original big-budget video game. The reception from homebound gamers will signal whether the company can become a force in a $159-billion global industry dominated by the likes of Microsoft Corp. and Activision Blizzard Inc.Crucible is a free-to-play PC game in which teams hunt down opponents and creatures on a distant planet. Amazon plans to start selling another game in August. Called New World, it will put players on a mysterious island where they will battle one another and hunt. The company is also working on The Lord of The Rings game and some unannounced projects.Crucible will make money by selling digital merchandise as well as seasonal battle passes. New World should fetch $40 for a standard edition and $50 for a deluxe version, including additional in-game items and a digital art book.“There’s tremendous room for invention in games,” says Mike Frazzini, the vice president of Amazon Games. “We’re just getting started.”If the first two titles are well received, Amazon’s gaming division could attract talent and shed a reputation for fits and starts. Popular games could also help build momentum for the company’s widely expected launch of a game-streaming service to rival Google Stadia, which lets users play a bunch games from any compatible device, without needing to download or update them. “There is much riding on the success of Crucible and New World,” says Billy Pidgeon, an analyst at Go Play Research.Amazon has been selling games from independent as well as the world’s largest publishers for decades, and its Amazon Web Services and tools support development of other companies’ games. It entered game publishing in 2012, partly to give consumers another reason to sign up for its Prime subscription, which along with free shipping offers a variety of entertainment options including television shows and movies. Early efforts that focused on mid-tier games, including some designed for Amazon's Fire TV streaming devices, didn't make a splash.Amazon constructed its game strategy from various pieces. In 2014, the Seattle-based company purchased Twitch, where people stream themselves playing such games as Fortnite and Valorant. Two years later, Amazon launched Twitch Prime, which gives game-playing Prime subscribers extra perks for no additional cost.The company began working on its own titles by hiring famed designers like Kim Swift. But Amazon has struggled to retain key talent, including Swift, who left for Electronic Arts Inc. and now works at Google. In 2018, Amazon canceled a game called Breakaway, in which teams tried to move a ball to their opponent’s goal. Last summer, the gaming news publication Kotaku reported that the company had laid off dozens of game developers and shelved some unannounced titles. Even the Crucible and New World release dates have been pushed out; Amazon blamed fallout from Covid-19.There’s plenty of competition. Microsoft, Sony Corp. and Nintendo Co. all have their own hardware—often an advantage because consoles enable advanced features. Facebook Inc., meanwhile, offers games like FarmVille on its social network, and its Facebook Gaming live-streaming service has been stealing share and streamers from Twitch. Amazon is also competing with established game publishers such as Activision and EA, which are constantly improving their existing games and coming up with new hits.Amazon has called in some extra help to push its games across the finish line. In 2017, former EA veteran Bing Gordon left Amazon’s board to help guide the division as a consultant. He has advised on marketing strategy and even played some games and offered feedback. Gordon is renowned for leading EA’s product development and creating an innovative pricing strategy for its online games.His initial agreement to consult for Amazon’s games division was extended and runs for about another year, according to a person familiar with the matter. A company spokesperson confirmed Gordon is advising the division. His involvement with Amazon’s game unit was previously reported by the tech news site The Information. Gordon is also on the board of mobile game maker Zynga Inc.“Amazon Game Studios is still finding its way,” says Susan Eustis, president of Wintergreen Research. But one hit game could provide a huge lift, she adds, and Amazon's 150 million paid Prime members globally represent a big market advantage.Launching a product in the midst of a pandemic may seem counter-intuitive. But gaming has become a go-to entertainment choice for people hunkered down at home—a captive audience if ever there was one. Players have been flocking to new releases like Animal Crossing: New Horizons, as well as rediscovering old favorites like Fortnite. Still, as the lockdowns ease, the recent surge in game playing could abate. Whether people keep paying for games amid skyrocketing unemployment remains to be seen.Amazon’s new games are likely to get a bump from Twitch, which can help publishers market new releases. Twitch’s players and streamers have been involved in the development of Crucible from early on. The game itself is specifically adapted to show well on the service: Characters are easily recognizable from a distance. It’s fast-paced from the get-go, an effort to make it exciting to watch. Twitch has said that ads on the platform to promote EA’s Apex Legends game helped it get 25 million unique users in a week.“One of the things that we hear most often from people who try Crucible is that it feels unique,” Frazzini says. “There are elements and gameplay mechanics that feel familiar, but they’re combined in a way that’s different from anything else they’ve played.”But making a blockbuster game is not easy, for anyone. Some reviewers who got an early peek at the two games liked them; others have not.“The buzz on these games has not been that great,” says David Cole, founder of DFC Intelligence, which tracks digital entertainment. “They are ambitious, but the market changes fast and both products already look passe now.”There have been plenty of naysayers with many titles that have gone on to become a success. Ultimately, it’s the players who will decide whether Amazon will become a gaming powerhouse.For more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.comSubscribe now to stay ahead with the most trusted business news source.©2020 Bloomberg L.P.

Here we discuss some gaming ETFs that are well poised to gain as an increasing number of people are resorting to in-house entertainment modes like video games amid the lockdown measures.

“People are rediscovering the value of games,” Zynga CEO Frank Gibeau said. “And as they think of how their lives will change, especially as states reopen, we could be seeing a fundamental shift in their game playing.”

Zynga's's (NASDAQ:ZNGA) stock is up by a considerable 14% over the past three months. We wonder if and what role the...

Harry Potter: Puzzles & Spells Releases First Official Trailer

Social game developer Zynga (ZNGA) has posted first quarter bookings of $425 million, easily beating the consensus estimate of $407 million, and guidance of $400 million.“Q1 represented the best first quarter revenue and bookings performance in the company’s history, benefitting from broad-based live services strength throughout the quarter” comments Wedbush analyst Michael Pachter. He reiterated his Zynga buy rating on May 7 with a $9.25 price target (16% upside potential).In particular, Empires & Puzzles and the company’s Social Slots portfolio both experienced record revenue and bookings quarters, with Empires & Puzzles, Merge Magic!, Game of Thrones Slots Casino, and Merge Dragons highlighted as the primary drivers of year-over-year top-line growth.Zynga reported revenue of $403.77M (up 52.1% year-over-year), beating the Street forecast by $13.17M. However Q1 GAAP EPS of -$0.11 missed expectations by $0.10.Looking forward, Zynga boosted FY:20 guidance for bookings to $1,800 million from $1,750 million, and for adjusted EBITDA to $360 million from $350 million. This compares to prior consensus estimates of $1,761 million and $357 million respectively.The company noted that its release pipeline is still intact, with Harry Potter: Puzzles & Spells, Puzzle Combat, and FarmVille 3 now all in soft launch, and at least one of these titles slated to launch in the second half of the year.“Zynga appears positioned to substantially exceed its full-year guidance” cheers Pachter. “Until there is a therapeutic solution or a vaccine to prevent infection, we are skeptical that non-essential businesses will ask their employees to return to the workplace” the analyst writes.“Should shelter-in-place persist for the balance of the year, we believe Zynga’s second half guidance will prove to be too low by as much as $100 million or more.” If his assumptions prove correct, Pachter sees FY:20 adjusted EBITDA as closer to $400 million.Overall, the stock has a cautiously optimistic Moderate Buy Street consensus with an $8 average analyst price target. With a 30% year-to-date gain already realized, the average price target indicates upside potential of just 6%. (See ZNGA stock analysis on TipRanks).“Our hypothesis that mobile game engagement would suffer due to reduced commuting and wait times by busy adults has been dispelled” wrote Wells Fargo analyst Brian Fitzgerald post-print, as he bumped up his price target to $9 from $8 previously.Related News: American Airlines: Warren Buffett Is Not Always Right Square Dips as Quarterly Loss Almost Triples Due to Virus Pandemic GoDaddy Pops 6% After-Hours On Solid Q1 Beat; Street Says ‘Buy’ More recent articles from Smarter Analyst: * President Trump Takes Aim at Digital Tech Giants From Google to Twitter * Soros Fund Ramps Up Peloton Stake, Exits JP Morgan * Billionaire Ackman Takes New Bet On Blackstone, Trims Chipotle Stake * Saudi Arabia’s Sovereign Fund Snaps Up $7.7B Of US Stocks, Including Boeing and Facebook

Insider Monkey has processed numerous 13F filings of hedge funds and successful value investors to create an extensive database of hedge fund holdings. The 13F filings show the hedge funds' and successful investors' positions as of the end of the first quarter. You can find articles about an individual hedge fund's trades on numerous financial […]

Amid COVID-19 lockdowns, one area that has fared well is video game stocks. Given the original game and product releases, Electronic Arts (NASDAQ: EA), NVIDIA (NASDAQ: NVDA), and Zynga (NASDAQ: ZNGA) could provide the industry with an additional boost even if many gamers have less time for their hobby. The company just lost its 15-year exclusivity deal with the NFL.

Zynga Inc (NASDAQ: ZNGA) delivered strong execution in the first quarter, outperforming the guidance on the back of healthy results from its portfolio of franchises, according to UBS.The Zynga Analyst Eric Sheridan maintained a Buy rating for Zynga with an unchanged $8.30 price target. The Zynga Thesis Zynga's growth is likely to continue to be driven by its array of live services and forever franchises, with upside from recently launched games, Sheridan said in a Thursday note. (See his track record here.)Zynga's balance sheet flexibility also positions the company to generate growth from potential acquisitions, the analyst said. Zynga has a track record of solid execution and it faces a large and growing market opportunity, he said. Yet "open questions remain around how investments against new title launches might produce returns, the scope of forward growth, and the sustainability of current engagement/monetization levels as well as retention rates for both new & reactivated gamers."View more earnings on ZNGAFollowing Zynga's beat on both the top- and bottom-line in the first quarter, UBS raised its second-quarter estimates for bookings, adjusted EBITDA and GAAP earnings from $421 million to $460 million, from $76 million to $92 million and from a 4-cent-per-share loss to a 6-cent-per-share loss, respectively.ZNGA Price Action Shares of Zynga were down 2.96% at $7.72 at the time of publication Thursday.Related Links:Here's How Much Investing 0 In The 2011 Zynga IPO Would Be Worth TodayEarnings Scheduled For May 6, 2020Latest Ratings for ZNGA DateFirmActionFromTo May 2020BairdMaintainsOutperform May 2020BarclaysMaintainsEqual-Weight May 2020Credit SuisseMaintainsUnderperform View More Analyst Ratings for ZNGA View the Latest Analyst Ratings See more from Benzinga * Wells Fargo Downgrades Shopify, Says Strong Growth Largely Priced In * American Eagle Analyst Upgrades Retailer After It Shows 'Huge Signal Of Strength' * PG&E Analyst Sees Buying Opportunity In Bankrupt California Utility's Shares(C) 2020 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved.

(Bloomberg) -- Voodoo SAS’s backers have kicked off the sale of a stake in the French mobile game developer, people with knowledge of the matter said.Marketing materials with an overview of the business have been sent to potential buyers, the people said, asking not to be identified as the information is private. The sellers are seeking indicative bids by early June, according to the people. A deal could value Voodoo at more than 1.5 billion euros ($1.6 billion), one of the people said.The decision to push ahead with the sale comes at a time when the coronavirus pandemic is keeping more people indoors and on their phones. That is helping to shield the mobile gaming industry from the virus’s broader economic impact, which is slowing dealmaking in other sectors.Voodoo is majority owned by its co-founders Alexandre Yazdi and Laurent Ritter. In 2018, they sold a stake in the business to a Goldman Sachs Group Inc. private equity fund called West Street Capital Partners VII.The company’s shareholders have been gauging interest from potential investors including rival game developers Ubisoft Entertainment SA and Zynga Inc., Bloomberg News reported in April. The process is at an early stage, and there’s no certainty the deliberations will lead to a transaction, the people said.A representative for Goldman Sachs declined to comment. An official at Voodoo didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.Voodoo, which was started in 2013, makes easy-to-play games including “Helix Jump,” “Roller Splat” and “Snake VS Block.” Many are free to download with optional in-game purchases. The company’s games have more than 300 million monthly active users and have generated in excess of 2 billion downloads, according to its website.For more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.comSubscribe now to stay ahead with the most trusted business news source.©2020 Bloomberg L.P.

Is (ZNGA) Outperforming Other Consumer Discretionary Stocks This Year?

Mobile video game developer Zynga Inc (NASDAQ: ZNGA) reported first-quarter results Wednesday at a time when people have "turned to games like they never had before," CEO Frank Gibeau said on CNBC's "Squawk Alley."Zyga CEO On The Importance Of Games Consumers confined to their homes are able to find refuge from a stressful environment through mobile games, as they allows people to "socially connect," Gibeau said.This culminated in a "tremendous climb" in gaming activity in April in terms of audience and engagement, he said. As shelter-in-place orders are lifted across the world, it is unclear how consumers will react to their gaming activity, and this is in part reflected in Zynga's second-quarter outlook, the CEO said. Nevertheless, some aspects of the guidance are strong, including $460 million in bookings, which was above the consensus estimate. Zynga's Advertising Revenue Video game companies are seeing a decrease in advertising-related revenue, but this is similar across the entire online advertising segment, the CEO said.What's unique about video games is their "incredible usage" during the quarantine, Gibeau said. "For brands or companies that want to reach customers, advertising through games is a very good place to go." User pay is still the more dominant revenue stream for Zynga, and will "continue to carry the day" when shelter orders are eased, he said. Zynga's Game Production All of Zynga's employees are working from home "very effectively," and the company's new game pipeline isn't impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, Gibeau said.View more earnings on ZNGAThe company has seen "very little" productivity loss, as mobile games require smaller processes and requirements compared to other forms of video games, he said. "We can stay in a work from home deployment for as long as is necessary."Zynga shares were down 4.09% at $7.62 before the close Thursday.Related Links:Why In-Game Revenue Is Key For Publishers Like Activision, Electronic ArtsHere's How Much Investing 0 In The 2011 Zynga IPO Would Be Worth TodaySee more from Benzinga * Why In-Game Revenue Is Key For Publishers Like Activision, Electronic Arts(C) 2020 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved.

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing, Chipotle, Activision Blizzard, Glu Mobile and Zynga highlighted as Zacks Bull and Bear of the Day

The stock sell-off we have experienced in recent weeks has probably led some to look for bargains on the stock market. As most investors know, a low nominal stock price does not necessarily mean a stock has become a bargain. A lower stock price can change the value proposition of many stock investments.