ATVI has been temporarily oversold because of current macroeconomic conditions, but it fundamentally remains a powerful and healthy tortoise in a race of hares.
It has performed exceptionally since its merger with Vivendi Games (best known for its game studio, Blizzard Entertainment Inc.).
The company has many upcoming catalysts for accelerating growth, including the anticipated release of "Overwatch" and the acquisition of King Digital for only $5.9 billion. That's right - only.
It is at the forefront of a sector that continues to capture the rapid growth of the eSports industry, which is primed to explode in the coming years.
By Contributing Analyst Sean Reilly
Activision Blizzard Inc. (NASDAQ:ATVI) is currently holding at around $31.05. Like the rest of the market, it has taken a short-term hit from macroeconomic events such as the current faith, or lack thereof, in the Chinese markets. Activision is attractive to us for a number of reasons. The Activision merger with Vivendi Games (best known for its game studio, Blizzard Entertainment) in July of 2008 proved to be incredibly beneficial for the company. In the years since, the studio has become one of the largest video game producers in the world. Activision owns popular game franchises such as Call of Duty, Guitar Hero, Tony Hawk's Pro Skater, and Candy Crush Saga, among others. More popular titles are published under Blizzard as well; they are World of Warcraft, Hearthstone, Heroes of the Storm, and Starcraft I and II. Its release of the title Destiny on September 15, 2015 was the single most downloaded game on the release date in PlayStation history.
ATVI recently joined the S&P 500 on August 28th, 2015, securing its position and validating its competitiveness against companies like Electronic Arts (NASDAQ:EA) and Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT). There is promising prospect for growth for ATVI, especially if one considers the company from a fundamental and futuristic perspective. Blizzard is releasing a new franchise in the spring of 2016: Overwatch. It is anticipated to be one of the biggest first person shooters because it captures many different consumer backgrounds. The game designers created it with both the casual and hardcore gamer in mind. Not only that, but the eSports scene is rapidly growing and continues to flourish around the world, and it will prove to be synergistic with Overwatch's release. Activision Blizzard is also producing a movie series based on its title, World of Warcraft, to be headed by a former Disney executive, Nick van Dyk. In comparison with other companies' future prospects in the sector, ATVI is the clear leader.
