Activision Blizzard Stock Hits Highest Mark Since 1984 During COVID-19

[Nergal]

 

Activision Blizzard's share prices on the stock market are now trading at $95.08 per share, the highest mark the company's reached since 1984; evidently, such growth is being driven by COVID-19. The publisher's success isn't purely riding high thanks to game releases, either. Sure, the likes of Call of Duty keep the wheels turning, but microtransactions constitute another incredible, and reliable, source of revenue for Activision Blizzard. As of November 2020, the company had raked in a whopping $1.2 billion from in-game purchases alone.

COVID-19 pushed the industry at-large to new heights throughout the last 12 months. Game sales, especially those on the digital front, consistently reached all-time highs, as people were forced to stay home during coronavirus-induced lockdowns. What better way to spend time during a pandemic than remaining indoors, favorite games in hand? Software sales weren't the only beneficiary; hardware sales skyrocketed, too, evidenced by the record-breaking releases of new consoles from both Microsoft and Sony.

Sarah E. Needleman, a tech reporter for the The Wall Street Journal, spotted the historic uptick in Activision Blizzard's stock. The publisher's stock presently sits at its highest mark since 1984 - $95 per share. According to Needleman, research firm MKM Partners recently "increased its revenue and EPS forecast" for Activision Blizzard, predicting the value will rise further still as the year carries on. MKM Partners additionally raised its price target for the company to $105. More details about the publisher's myriad successes will surface fairly soon, since its Q4 earnings will become public next month.


The demand for home-based entertainment saw the Call of Duty brand rake in $3 billion for Activision Blizzard before the end of last year. This staggering figure was thanks to the staying-power of 2019's Call of Duty: Modern Warfare, COD: Mobile, Warzone, and Black Ops Cold War. Brand-related merchandise, publisher incentives, and licensing fees drove these results as well, the firm explained at the time.

But the flagship shooter franchise doesn't serve as the only property allowing Activision Blizzard to remain a cut above the rest. The publisher rolled out two other high-earning titles last year. Crash Bandicoot 4: It's About Time fared pretty well, moving an impressive 400,000 copies in digital sales alone during its launch month. The remarkable Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 1 +2 became the fastest-selling entry in franchise history, reaching one million units sold less than two weeks after release. It wouldn't come as much of a surprise if Activision Blizzard managed to outdo itself again in the next 12 months.