Why Is Mobile Games Giant Playtika Soaring On Wednesday?
BofA Securities analyst Omar Dessouky double-upgraded the shares of Playtika Holding Corp (NASDAQ:PLTK) on Wednesday from Underperform to Buy and raised the price forecast from $6 to $6.50.
The company has the highest profitability in the industry, with 30% EBITDA margins, and is home to some of the largest mobile gaming franchises, the analyst said.
Despite being in a mature yet growing industry, PLTK's 21% FCF yield and 9% dividend yield suggest limited downside.
The stock's recent dislocation is attributed to shareholder exits, delayed growth, and investor preference for ad network assets, opined the analyst.
Also Read:
The analyst has increased the CY25 forecast for PLTK to $2.85 billion in Bookings and $740 million in EBITDA, based on January and February 3P data.
The company's guidance appears conservative, suggesting a 6% Y/Y organic decline in CY25, worse than the -5% Y/Y decline in CY24.
The analyst's estimate assumes SuperPlay generates $465 million in bookings (+22% Y/Y), while the existing portfolio declines by 5% Y/Y. Currently, SuperPlay is tracking +43% Y/Y.
Shareholder activism poses a potential risk to the dividend, as PLTK's largest shareholder (63%) has unclear motivations.
While management has outlined a 50% capital return and 50% M&A framework for FCF use, it is not a formal policy and could change, noted the analyst.
Price Action: PLTK shares traded higher by 19.88% at $5.27 at last check Wednesday.
Read Next:Photo by Ground Picture on Shutterstock.
Date
Firm
Action
From
To
Feb 2022
Credit Suisse
Maintains
Outperform
Dec 2021
DA Davidson
Initiates Coverage On
Buy
Dec 2021
Macquarie
Initiates Coverage On
Outperform
View More Analyst Ratings for PLTK
View the Latest Analyst Ratings
Up Next: Transform your trading with Benzinga Edge's one-of-a-kind market trade ideas and tools. Click now to access unique insights that can set you ahead in today's competitive market.
Get the latest stock analysis from Benzinga?
This article Why Is Mobile Games Giant Playtika Soaring On Wednesday? originally appeared on Benzinga.com
© 2025 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
43 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Casey's Tops Estimates, Boosts Dividend
Casey's General Stores posted 11% revenue and 12% earnings-per-share growth in the quarter, surpassing Wall Street estimates. The company's results were aided by the acquisition of Fikes Wholesale, but Casey's managed to post inside same-store sales growth despite a tough operating environment. Casey's boosted its quarterly dividend for the 26th consecutive year and provided an initial forecast for growth in its new fiscal year. 10 stocks we like better than Casey's General Stores › Here's our initial take on Casey's General Stores' (NASDAQ: CASY) financial report. Metric Q4 FY24 Q4 FY25 Change vs. Expectations Revenue $3.60 billion $3.99 billion 11% Beat Earnings per share $2.34 $2.63 12% Beat Inside same-store sales +5.6% +1.7% -390 bp n/a Gross margin 41.2% 41.2% n/c n/a Convenience store powerhouse Casey's General Stores capped off a strong fiscal 2025, reporting double-digit quarterly revenue and earnings growth that topped expectations. The company is holding up better than a lot of retailers in a tough environment, with growth being driven by strong results from its bakery and hot sandwich offerings and from nonalcoholic beverages. Inside same-store sales grew by just 1.7% in the quarter, but CEO Darren Rebelez said that the full-year 2.6% growth "outperformed the industry." Casey's is also doing a good job of keeping a handle on costs, reducing same-store labor hours for the 12th consecutive quarter. Overall inside margin held steady year over year, with a slight uptick in grocery margin offset by a slight decrease in prepared food margin. This was a year of growth for Casey's. The company grew its store count from 2,658 to 2,904 over the past year, including about 35 new builds, as well as through its $1.1 billion acquisition of Fikes Wholesale, Casey's largest deal to date. Casey's continues to return more cash to shareholders. The company raised its quarterly dividend by 14% to $0.57 per share, marking the 26th consecutive annual increase. Investors seemed to like what Casey's was serving. The company's stock was up more than 7% immediately following the earnings release but ahead of Tuesday morning's planned call with investors. This is the end of Casey's fiscal year, and the company provided its first outlook for what it expects in the 12 months ahead. Casey's is forecasting that inside same-store sales will grow by 2% to 5% in fiscal 2026 and that EBITDA will grow by 10% to 12%. Casey's expects to continue to grow, forecasting it will open at least 80 stores via a combination of new construction and acquisitions, continuing on its three-year plan to expand by about 500 stores. This is a company that has been able to successfully apply its winning formula to new locations through both organic growth and M&A. It is a tough market for retail right now, but Casey's remains a standout. Full earnings report Investor relations page Before you buy stock in Casey's General Stores, consider this: The Motley Fool Stock Advisor analyst team just identified what they believe are the for investors to buy now… and Casey's General Stores wasn't one of them. The 10 stocks that made the cut could produce monster returns in the coming years. Consider when Netflix made this list on December 17, 2004... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you'd have $669,517!* Or when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you'd have $868,615!* Now, it's worth noting Stock Advisor's total average return is 792% — a market-crushing outperformance compared to 173% for the S&P 500. Don't miss out on the latest top 10 list, available when you join . See the 10 stocks » *Stock Advisor returns as of June 9, 2025 Lou Whiteman has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool recommends Casey's General Stores. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. Casey's Tops Estimates, Boosts Dividend was originally published by The Motley Fool Sign in to access your portfolio
Yahoo
44 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Sezzle Files Antitrust Action Against Shopify
Minneapolis, MN, June 09, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Sezzle Inc. (NASDAQ:) (Sezzle or Company) // Purpose-driven digital payment platform, Sezzle, announced today that it has filed a lawsuit against Shopify Inc. in the U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota asserting federal and state antitrust violations. The lawsuit alleges that Shopify has been engaging and continues to engage in monopolistic and anticompetitive business practices in order to stifle competition for 'buy now, pay later' service options on Shopify's e-commerce platform. Sezzle is seeking an injunction to prevent Shopify from continuing its anticompetitive conduct that limits consumer choice and stifles fair market competition. The suit filed by the Company seeks treble damages. 'Sezzle remains committed to fostering a competitive, transparent, and consumer-friendly payments ecosystem,' stated Charlie Youakim, Sezzle Chairman and CEO. 'This action is an important step in ensuring that merchants and consumers have access to diverse and innovative payment solutions of their choice.' The Company also shared the following business updates: For the first quarter of 2025, revenue associated with gross merchandise volume attributable to Shopify's e-commerce platform represented less than 5.0% of Sezzle's total revenue. The Company is reaffirming its fiscal 2025 guidance, which was provided in its 1Q25 earnings release on May 7, 2025. Contact Information Lee Brading, CFA Investor Relations +1 651 240 6001 InvestorRelations@ Erin Foran Media Enquiries +1 651 403 2184 About Sezzle Inc. Sezzle is a forward-thinking fintech company committed to financially empowering the next generation. Through its purpose-driven payment platform, Sezzle enhances consumers' purchasing power by offering access to point-of-sale financing options and digital payment services—connecting millions of customers with its global network of merchants. Centered on transparency, inclusivity, and ease of use, Sezzle empowers consumers to manage spending responsibly, take charge of their finances, and achieve lasting financial independence. For more information visit Forward Looking Statements This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. We have based these forward-looking statements largely on our current expectations and projections about future events and financial trends affecting the financial condition of our business. Forward-looking statements include our expectations, whether stated or implied, regarding our financing plans and other future events. Forward-looking statements generally can be identified by the use of words such as "anticipate," "expect," "plan," "could," "may," "will," "believe," "estimate," "forecast," "goal," "project," other words or expressions of similar meaning (or the negative versions of such words or expressions). These forward-looking statements address various matters including statements regarding the timing or nature of future operating or financial performance or other events. Each forward-looking statement contained in this press release is subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such statement. Applicable risks and uncertainties include, among others: impact of the 'buy-now, pay-later' ('BNPL') industry becoming subject to increased regulatory scrutiny; impact of operating in a highly competitive industry; impact of macro-economic conditions on consumer spending; our ability to increase our merchant network, our base of consumers and gross merchandise value (GMV); our ability to effectively manage growth, sustain our growth rate and maintain our market share; our ability to maintain adequate access to capital in order to meet the capital requirements of our business; impact of exposure to consumer bad debts and insolvency of merchants; impact of the integration, support and prominent presentation of our platform by our merchants; impact of any data security breaches, cyberattacks, employee or other internal misconduct, malware, phishing or ransomware, physical security breaches, natural disasters, or similar disruptions; impact of key vendors or merchants failing to comply with legal or regulatory requirements or to provide various services that are important to our operations; impact of the loss of key partners and merchant relationships; impact of exchange rate fluctuations in the international markets in which we operate; our ability to protect our intellectual property rights and third party allegations of the misappropriation of intellectual property rights; our ability to retain employees and recruit additional employees; impact of the costs of complying with various laws and regulations applicable to the BNPL industry in the United States and Canada; and our ability to achieve our public benefit purpose and our election to forego our B Corporation certification and other factors identified in the 'Risk Factors' section of our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2025 (the 'Annual Report') and the Company's subsequent filings filed with the SEC. You are encouraged to read the Company's Annual Report and other filings with the SEC, available at for a discussion of these and other risks and uncertainties.. The Company cautions investors not to place considerable reliance on the forward-looking statements contained in this press release. You are The forward-looking statements in this press release speak only as of the date of this document, and the Company undertakes no obligation to update or revise any of these statements. The Company's business is subject to substantial risks and uncertainties, including those referenced above. Investors, potential investors, and others should give careful consideration to these risks and uncertainties. CONTACT: Erin Foran Sezzle 6514032184
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
ReNew Announces Date and Conference Call Details for Fourth Quarter Earnings (Q4 FY25), Fiscal Year 2025 Results
GURUGRAM, India, June 09, 2025--(BUSINESS WIRE)--ReNew Energy Global plc ("ReNew") (NASDAQ: RNW, RNWWW), India's leading renewable energy company, today announced it will issue its fiscal fourth quarter (January - March) and year ended March 31, 2025, earnings report before the opening of the Nasdaq on June 16, 2025. A conference call has been scheduled to discuss the earnings results at 8:30 AM EST (6:00 PM IST) on June 16, 2025. The conference call can be accessed live at: or by phone (toll-free) by dialing: US/Canada: (+1) 855 881 1339France: (+33) 0800 981 498Germany: (+49) 0800 182 7617Hong Kong: (+852) 800 966 806India: (+91) 0008 0010 08443Japan: (+81) 005 3116 1281Singapore: (+65) 800 101 2785Sweden: (+46) 020 791 959UK: (+44) 0800 051 8245Rest of the world: (+61) 7 3145 4010 (toll) An audio replay will be available following the call on our investor relations website at About ReNew ReNew is a leading decarbonisation solutions company listed on Nasdaq (Nasdaq: RNW, RNWWW). ReNew's clean energy portfolio of ~17.4 GWs on a gross basis as of February 14, 2025, is one of the largest globally. In addition to being a major independent power producer in India, it provides end-to-end solutions in a just and inclusive manner in the areas of clean energy, value-added energy offerings through digitalisation, storage, and carbon markets that are increasingly integral to addressing climate change. For more information, visit and follow us on LinkedIn, Facebook, X, and Instagram. View source version on Contacts Press Enquiries pr@ Investor Enquiries ReNew | Anunay Shahi, Nitin Vaid | ir@
