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Video game publisher Electronic Arts ( EA ) on Tuesday laid out its plan to add $1 billion in incremental revenue within the next three to five years. EA earned mostly positive reviews for its presentation at the company’s investor day event, held at its headquarters in Redwood City, Calif. Oppenheimer analyst Andrew Uerkwitz reiterated his outperform rating on EA stock but raised his price target to 88 from 78. EA stock was down 1%, near 74, in early afternoon trading on the stock market today . Electronic Arts shares hit an all-time high of 77.15 on Monday. “We came away more confident in EA’s growth strategy and ability to engage existing and potential customers with new tools,” Uerkwitz said in a research report Wednesday. “We believe secular tailwinds such as the move to digital and mobile will support multiyear margin expansion and profit growth for the company.” EA sees future sales growth coming from action games, shooter games and international expansion. It projects that digital growth, including sales of full-game downloads and extra content spending, will boost profitability. Another area of growth is e-sports. EA says competitive gaming initiatives will drive game sales, plus deliver advertising and sponsorship revenue. The next potential catalyst for EA is the E3 video game conference in mid-June, Piper Jaffray analyst Michael Olson said in a note Wednesday. He maintained his overweight rating on EA stock with a price target of 87. EA’s game lineup for its current fiscal 2017 is more attractive than last year’s slate, Olson said. Upcoming releases include “Mirror’s Edge Catalyst,” due out June 7, and “Battlefield 1,” due out Oct. 21. Also in the pipeline are “Titanfall 2,” scheduled for fiscal Q3, and “Mass Effect: Andromeda,” set for late Q4. EA’s fiscal 2017 started April 1. EA ended fiscal 2016 with non-GAAP revenue of $4.57 billion, up 6% year over year. Earnings per share minus items rose 25% to $3.14 in the just-closed fiscal year. EA isn’t the only video game stock trading just below its record high. Take-Two Interactive Software ( TTWO ), which reports fiscal Q4 earnings after the market close Wednesday, hit an all-time high of 38.52 on April 4. Activision Blizzard ( ATVI ) notched a record high of 39.93 on Dec. 29. Take-Two stock was down a fraction, below 36, and Activision stock was up 1%, near 38.50, in afternoon trading Wednesday. RELATED: EA Stock Soars Like ‘Star Wars’ Millennium Falcon After Q4 Beat . Scalper1 News
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