Zynga Inc (NASDAQ:ZNGA) Creeping up Ahead of Earnings
In the last four sessions Zynga Inc (NASDAQ:ZNGA) has managed to move from $2.43 to a $2.49 close yesterday. The company’s Q1 earnings will be coming out on May 7. In addition to the numbers, the upcoming announcement should contain some details on what Mark Pincus’ plan is.
The surprising return of Mr. Pincus at the helm of ZNGA was announced on Apr 8. The market reaction left no place for doubt about shareholder sentiment; ZNGA lost nearly 18% in a single session. No reason was stated for the departure of Don Mattrick, although it would be easy to point out that, Mr. Mattrick wasn’t all that successful during his tenure.
The most important task was to lead the transition of the social gaming pioneer into mobile, and while ZNGA reported mobile bookings comprised 60% of all booking at the the end of 2014, the company is trailing mobile leaders like King Digital Entertainment (NYSE:KING) by a lot.
Even before Mr. Pincus’ return had been announced it was clear ZNGA had some titles coming out this year, notably Empire and Allies and Dawn of Titans. With old franchises like Farmiville and Zynga Poker being far from their peaks, the hopes for better future performance are largely dependent Words and the new titles.
The earnings announcement on May 7 probably won’t shed any light on how well the new games will fare, but the promised details on Mr. Pincus’ plan could be important in determining the future of ZNGA.
