The previous few days have proven to be poor for Activision Blizzard (NASDAQ:ATVI 52.52 -3.28%) following the release of its quarterly earnings. Despite beating predictions, share prices faltered from $56.78 upon opening on the 7th of November to $52.52 upon the close of the day yesterday, the 11th of November.
Yesterday alone saw shares fall 3.28%, even though the majority of brokerages have the company as a buy rating, with an average target price of $59.81. Recently JPMorgan Chase & Co raised its price objective for the company from $58 to $62, with other changes coming from Macquarie giving a $58 price target, Bank of America with a $62 price target and Piper Jaffray Companies giving a $62 price target, all three set in the second half of October. On the 4th of November, Piper Jaffray analyst Michael Olson stated his belief that Activision Blizzard “has put a lethargic 2019 behind it and can rebound in 2020”.
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Why the cause for this recent continued fall in price for Activision Blizzard? Seemingly, this appears to be down to the short term, with the battle bass of the hugely successful Call of Duty: Modern Warfare having been delayed now from a November launch to December. In the earnings call following the release of the quarterly earnings, the company stated this regarding the battle pass:
We will support other key franchise with a stream of content, services, events, and features. This includes our new in-game system for Modern Warfare, which begins in December, slightly later than originally planned.
This slight delay will likely cause a lowering of sales figures, particularly due to the shorter time the pass will be on sale as well as the fact that releasing in December, it has to compete with the holiday season and potentially lower spending from those customers whose funds will go elsewhere. However, I don’t personally believe this is the primary cause of the recent fall.
Global News 
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