Take-Two raised its annual sales target following a fiscal third-quarter earnings and revenue beat
The shares of Take-Two Interactive Software, Inc (NASDAQ:TTWO) are down 6.2% at $200.08 this morning, despite an impressive fiscal third-quarter earnings and revenue beat. The company also raised its annual sales targets as popular video game franchises like "NBA 2K" and "Grand Theft Auto" continue to see strong demand. The aforementioned titles may not be enough, however, as shares are facing pressure after Take-Two failed to announce immediate new game releases, though the company did say it expects to bring 93 new releases to the market in the next five years. A drop in fiscal third-quarter adjusted sales is also weighing on shares this morning.
Meanwhile, no less than nine analysts issued price-target hikes -- the highest coming from Bernstein to $262. Sentiment surrounding the stock was already high coming into today. In fact, 13 of the 21 in coverage considered TTWO a "buy" or better, while its 12-month consensus price target of $212.70 is a 6.1% premium to current levels..
Today's negative price action has the equity pulling back from the $214.91 all-time high hit yesterday, The equity just moved back below recent support at its 40-day moving average too, though the 50-day moving average is helping to keep some of these losses in check. Longer term, TTWO is up 80.6% year-over-year.
Lastly, options traders are charging toward Take-Two stock this morning. Already, over 16,000 calls and 14,000 puts have exchanged hands, which is 14 times what's typically traded at this point. Most popular is the February 200 call, followed by the weekly 2/12 195-strike put, with positions being opened at the former.