Posts for Ticker ‘NTDOY’

Video Game Sector Preps For Tough Year-End (GME, SNE, MSFT, ERTS, AMZN, NTDOY, TTWO, ATVI)

burning-money-picThe video game sector was supposed to be one of the relative beneficiaries of the recession even if it was not to be entirely immune.  The sector was part of the ‘in-living room entertainment’ trade.  Yet, it isn’t working out that way.  It seems that there has been almost no good news in the sector and the economic recovery is skipping the leaders.  Earnings from GameStop Corp. (NYSE: GME) were not helped at all by guidance.  Sony Corporation (NYSE: SNE) has potentially started a war of emasculation among console makers with its recent price cuts.  And game publisher Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ: ERTS) gave a poor showing with its most recent results.  Recent NPD data for video game sales showed some of the worst reports imaginable.
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Posted on: August 20, 2009 – 10:52 am in Earnings, Entertainment, Video Games, , , , , , , ,

Foreign Brands Gone Missing For Investors (NYX, NDAQ, ADDDF, BAESY, AHBIF, LVMHF, NSRGY, NTDOY, RHHBY, LUKOY)

There has been an interesting trend in the globalization movement.  The U.S. has seen some major brands and major companies get acquired by foreign public companies, but suddenly U.S. investors have a very hard time in investing in those companies again.   The NYSE Euronext, Inc. (NYSE: NYX) and the NASDAQ OMX Group Inc. (NASDAQ: NDAQ) have an opportunity to recruit many of these foreign companies to take on full US listings (again for some of them).  We also have many products and goods produced by foreign companies which we in the U.S. consume.  Despite most of these companies being public, most U.S. investors cannot easily invest in many of these icons.  Most brokers do not even know how to trade them.  The Peter Lynch method suggests investing in what you know, yet that notion is not possible in many of these companies for most Americans.  This form of globalization may feel like isolation for investors who want to own a piece of their favorite brands.

Throughout this decade, it became commonplace for large companies to stop having full listings in the U.S.  One reason was over the disclosure and regulatory rules, while some reasoned that the cost of listing was of little to no benefit to the company.  Some of these are at least traded OTC or on the Pink Sheets.  That is good or at least a start.  Unfortunately, most Americans  do not know how to invest in these markets.  For that matter, most brokers do not either.  Here are just some of the companies which trade OTC or on the Pink Sheets:
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Posted on: April 17, 2009 – 11:14 am in ADR, Consumer Goods, IPOs, International Markets, OTC, , , , , , , , , ,

Will the Wii Rescue Mad Catz? (MCZ, NTDOY)

Mad_catz_logoMad Catz Interactive, Inc. (AMEX: MCZ) has been a dismal video game-related stock which never really get off of the ground.  Its annual sales have also not shown any growth even when the sector was rapidly growing.  The interactive entertainment accessory provider (video game peripherals) has entered into a multi-year licensing pact with Nintendo (NTDOY). 

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Posted on: November 6, 2008 – 10:58 am in Video Games, ,

Nintendo Executives Follow 24/7 Wall St. (NTDOY, MSFT, SNE, GME) (7974.JP)

Just one week ago 24/7 Wall St. suggested that Nintendo (OTC:NTDOY) might try a Hail Mary Pass and offer a voucher with a guarantee if they can ramp more from manufacturing or if it can outsource more capacity.  The company launched a deal via GameStop (NYSE:GME) today for "rain-checks" so that if you pay the full console price that you can get your Wii by the end of January.  Hmmmmm, sounds awfully familiar….. 

If you look at how strong the data is you’d wonder how many Wii systems Nintendo could have sold if it actually had them in stock. The NPD data for the latest release shows the following console sales for last month:

  • Nintendo Wii at 981,000 units;
  • Microsoft Xbox 770,000 units;
  • Sony PS3 440,000.

We noted how American consumers are impatient, but this might just satiate at least some of the demands.  This is actually a pretty good number for Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) but shows that Sony’s (NYSE:SNE) PS3 is a dud and still considerably underperforming.

Jon C. Ogg
December 14, 2007

Jon Ogg can be reached at jonogg@247wallst.com; he does not own securities in the companies he covers.

Posted on: December 14, 2007 – 1:14 pm in Video Games, , , , , , , ,

Would Nintendo Risk A Hail Mary Strategy To Meet Insatiable Wii Demand (NTDOY, SNE, MSFT) (7974.JP)

If there is one thing you still hear about as being immune from a weak consumer and from any Christmas spending concerns it is that Nintendo’s Wii is in such high demand that the darned things are extremely difficult to find.  Apparently everyone in the Western hemisphere has decided they want to be "Wii-nies."  Nintendo’s (OTC: NTDOY) stock has come back from the grave

The WSJ just reported today that Nintendo has been far too conservative in its forecasts and in its supply and demand models.  That is likely because it wasn’t all that long ago that Nintendo was thought of as a dead system when rivals Sony (NYSE: SNE) were going gangbusters with the Play Station franchise (PS3 excluded now) and the Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) Xbox franchise doing as well as it has.

What is becoming more than obvious is that despite the company remaining focused on cash flows and being extremely conservative, this video game system hasn’t just done better or even far better than the company expected.  It is continuing to be a shining star and demand is out-pacing what it can currently even come remotely close to supplying.  The company already said it was trying to ramp up manufacturing. 

But here is our suggestion: go take your designs to more outsourced manufacturing companies (or EMS players) and see what they can do for you.  Unfortunately, with there being only 18 days to Christmas they won’t be able to fill the gap in time for the holidays.  But one thing that the company could do is try offering a voucher guarantee if they can secure more manufacturing.  It is of course only an option if they can land more outsourced manufacturing.  It’s also a risk because if they fail to deliver it will be a huge round of negative press about Nintendo being unable to live up to promises and it ruining many holiday dreams (remember we’ve all been a bunch selfish children that want what we want now).  But it would also keep its customers that just can’t find the systems from automatically buying a Playstation or an Xbox 360 because they wanted a new system.

I called the two GameStop stores I go to for games (30’s and 40’s somethings can be gamers too) and neither store has any Wii’s in stock and both said they don’t think any of the local GameStop’s have any Wii’s in stock.  One told me that they won’t know if they get any in before Christmas.  There is just one small problem with the voucher idea.  The problem is that both GameStop’s told me they are not allowed to even have a waiting list and they are first come first serve.

When American consumers want to buy something and can’t, let’s just say they aren’t exactly great at saving and waiting.  They just buy the competitors’ products.

Jon C. Ogg
December 7, 2007

Jon Ogg can be reached at jonogg@247wallst.com; he does not own securities in the companies he covers.

Posted on: December 7, 2007 – 11:03 am in Video Games, , , ,

Another Strong Month For Video Game Sales (NTDOY, MSFT, ERTS, TTWO)

NPD has its data out for the month of August showing another massive month in video game sales.  Game titles and hardware showed roughly a 46% combined gain over August 2006.

The Nintendo (NASDAQ/PK:NTDOY) Wii still took the lead with over 400,000 consoles selling.  The negative part of this is that this represents a 5% sequential decline from July.  And the other downside is that Wii-nies won’t be playing Halo 3 in less than two weeks like every Xbox 360 owner will be.

The Xbox 360 from Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) sold over 276,000 consoles in August after announcing price cuts.  The Xbox 360 crowd is obviously looking forward to this Halo 3 record breaking launch, because even early last month it came out that Halo 3 had pre-sold over 1 million copies of its blockbuster game.

Take-Two Interactive (NASDAQ:TTWO) also won out with its BioShock game title selling 491,000 units.  Shares of TTWO are indicated higher pre-market.  Electronic Arts (NASDAQ:ERTS) Madden NFL 2008 sold 897,000 units.

While the comparables for year over year from 2007 compared to 2006 are strong, you know this is going to set a huge benchmark for 2008 that will be tough to show this same sort of growth.

Jon C. Ogg
September 14, 2007

Posted on: September 14, 2007 – 7:36 am in Video Games, , , , , , , , , , ,

Pre-Market Stock News (June 25, 2007)

(AAPL) Apple’s iTunes passed Amazon.com in music sales to become #3 music seller behind Best Buy and Wal-Mart.
(AFOP) Alliance Fiber Optics raised Q2 sales guidance.
(AGN) Allergan trades ex-split to reflect a 2-1 stock split today.
(BNT) Bentley Pharmaceuticals reported positive results with Nasulin intranasal insulin spray at the American Diabetes Association sessions.
(BX) Blackstone was the cover story for Barron’s, noted somewhat cautiously.
(DCGN) deCODE genetics announces positive clinical results for DG041 lead product candidate.
(EBAY) eBay has reportedly sent back some of the ad business to Google that it recently pulled.
(ESRX) Express Scripts trades ex-split today to reflect a 2-1 stock split.
(FRH) Freedom Acquisition Holdings is becoming a public hedge fund and alternative investment vehicle as GLG Partners a $3.4 Billion total compensation deal.
(GILD) Gilead trades ex-split today to reflect a 2-1 stock split.
(GIVN) Given Imaging could revolutionize colonoscopies according to Cramer.
(GPCB) GPC Biotech announced a partnership for Satraplatin in Japan with Yakult Honsha Co. Ltd. And will receive close to a $10 million payment plus royalties.
(HNSN) Hansen Medical has initiated legal action against Luna Innovations over trade secrets, unfair competition and breach of contract on fiber optic technologies for use in robotic catheter products and related intellectual property.
(KVHI) KVH Industries received a $1.1 million fiber optic gyro order for military simulators.
(LRY) Liberty Property established a $50 million buyback program as part of a total $100 million buyback plan.
(MRK) Merck announced that JANUVIA in combination with metaformin provided significant glycemic improvement and was well tolerated and showed significantly improved blood sugar control in patients with type II diabetes.
(NBL) Noble Energy announced new oil and gas discovery in Equatorial Guinea.
(NGI) NEON Communications being acquired for $5.25 per share by RCN Communications.
(NRGN) Neurogen announces positive results for proprietary insomnia drug in two chronic insomnia clinical trials.
(NTDOY) Nintendo passed up Sony in market value in Japan today.
(OMTR) Omniture could be acquired in online ad measuring according to Cramer; stock up 8%.
(OREX) Orexigen Therapeutics announced positive obesity data this weekend American Diabetes Association 67th Scientific Sessions in Chicago.
(USEY) US Energy is seeking third party financial advisors to assist board in its evaluation of potential refinancing or restructuring transactions
(YHOO) Yahoo!’s head executive of US ad sales left for Martha Stewart Ominimedia; Yahoo! is merging ad departments.

Jon C. Ogg
June 25, 2007

JOn Ogg can be reached at jonogg@247wallst.com; he does not own securities in the companies he covers.

Posted on: June 25, 2007 – 7:18 am in Pre-Market Activity, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Nintendo Close to Overtaking Sony’s Size

Stock Tickers: NTDOY, SNE, AAPL

There is an interesting take out of Reuters in Japan today, showing that Nintendo (NTDOY-OTC) is catching up to Sony (SNE-NYSE/ADR) in market value (market cap in U.S.).  The report says that Nintendo has overtaken Matsushita today and is now closing on Sony.  Nintendo’s market cap of 6.3 trillion Yen is equivalent to almost $51 Billion today, compared to 6.23 trillion Yen for matsushita and 6.64 trillion for Sony.  Nintendo shares have risen nearly four-fold compared to a more than 70% gain out of Sony.

Last month’s NPD data put Nintendo’s Wii gaming system outselling the PlayStation 3 console by 3-1 in Japan and 2-1 in the U.S.  The Nintendo DS handheld gaming system is also chugging far more in market share than the Sony PSP. 

Reuters gave some basic data observation here, but there are many things to consider far outside of the article.  Nintendo has found a way to reinvent itself while Sony has found a way to marginalize itself.  From a U.S. standpoint, Sony is rapidly becoming a company that has more expensive plasma and LCD TV’s and has a gaming system that costs too much.  The good news is that they have other electronics, cool digital cameras, and a movie/entertainment studio that buyers don’t shy away from.  Nintendo is all-gaming and has been knocking the socks off Sony.  Sony is also the one that stupidly wasn’t able to take the Walkman to the next level, which allowed Apple’s (AAPL-NASDAQ) iPod to takeover the world.  Nintendo spent roughly a decade in the backseat after the Sony PlayStation took the world by force, and now it looks like it is getting some payback.

The law of big numbers will probably come into play at some point, but right now it is hard to find a true-believer in Sony.  Sony may even have to further consider some serious strategic alternatives sooner rather than later.  Last week we noted that Nintendo needs to adopt a better ADR program rather than its OTC-quoted stock, and that still seems like a good idea.

Jon C. Ogg
June 20, 2007

Jon Ogg can be reached at jonogg@247wallst.com; he does not own securities in the companies he covers.

Posted on: June 20, 2007 – 10:20 am in ADR, Video Games, , ,

Nintendo’s Next Wii Strategy for Investors

Stock Tickers: NTDOY, GME, MSFT, SNE, ERTS, ATVI, THQI, MWY, TTWO

It’s no secret that Nintendo (NTDOY) has kicked some major, well you know what, with the strong sales of its two gaming systems: The Wii and the handheld portable DS system, plus all of the game titles.  When you look at a stock rather than the products, you may ask yourself "What can they do to keep their momentum rolling?".  After all, the stock in the US alone has more than doubled.  What got it here?

The sales got it where it is and NPD’s data was released Thursday showing that Nintendo took the top two spots in hardware, accounting for more than 760,000 units sold.  The Wii sold 338,000 units, compared to 155,000 Xbox 360 units from Microsoft (MSFT) and only 82,000 PS3 units from Sony (SNE).  Nintendo also took four of the top five game titles.  Total video game sales between software and hardware showed a 49% gain in May.  That is up from April’s 20% gain, both numbers being year over year.  These NPD numbers helped GameStop (GME) rally 5% on Friday.  Some video game title makers rose as well on the NPD data, even though some may actually have lost sales because of strong Wii sales: Electronic Arts (ERTS) +2.9%, THQ Interactive (THQI) rose 1.1%; Negative on the day: Activision (ATVI) saw a -0.9% drop and take-Two (TTWO) saw a 1.5% drop; Midway Games -0.5%.  Sony is considering a price cut to the PS3 to bump its market share.

Nintendo is a public company, but only ‘barely’ if you are a US investor.  Nintendo Co. LTD does have ADR’s, but the shares trade on the perpetually hated Pink Sheets under the ticker "NTDOY."  Go ask anyone that is Not in the financial markets for a living that invests in and trades stocks "Have you ever bought a pink sheet stock?".  There is probably a 90% chance they will not have, and there is probably a 50% chance they won’t even know what it means.  If they do, they probably will only get a 1-day old quote for the stock.

Video games are now bigger than movies as far as entertainment money is spent and it isn’t just teenagers.  Your’s truly is an Xbox 360 owner.  Most of the big video gaming companies are public.  The stock trades under the ticker "7974" on the Osaka Stock Exchange in Japan.  Shares are up 117% over the last year.   People would like to be able to invest in this but they don’t know how.  Too many US investors don’t even have the ability to buy shares on a foreign market.  Depending on what service you use, Nintendo has a $48 Billion market cap.

Nintendo might win over more investors if they would sell $1 Billion in ADR shares on either NASDAQ, NYSE, or AMEX.  If nothing else, the company would at least be able to make it possible for US investors to trade the stock.  This has been an ongoing thought and it has been puzzling for years.  The company might claim it doesn’t want the US regulation, but the truth is that most of the regulation in the US out of the SEC pertains to US-domiciled companies.  Sure, maybe once the NYSE or NASDAQ create their global kiretsu’s of an exchange hodge-podge then investors will have an easier time investing in Nintendo if they want to.  Would this guarantee a higher stock price? No, of course it wouldn’t guarantee that.  But it would make the stock much more liquid and make the company more open to investors.  Until then………..

Jon C. Ogg
June 15, 2007

Jon Ogg can be reached at jonogg@247wallst.com; he does not own securities in the companies he covers.

Posted on: June 15, 2007 – 4:42 pm in Video Games, , , , , , , , ,