5 Takeaways From Activision's BlizzConline

Video game maker Activision Blizzard, Inc. ATVI revealed its content pipeline for 2021 during its annual BlizzConline event, but fell short of acting as a catalyst for the stock, according to BofA.

The Activision Blizzard Analyst: Ryan Ghee maintains a Buy rating on Activision's stock with a $114 price target.

The Activision Blizzard Thesis: Among the new releases Activision's management showcased during the presentation, included:

• Diablo 2 Resurrected (D2R) is featuring cross-progression.
• Mercenaries is a new hero-builder mode in Hearthstone.
• The Burning Crusade is coming to World of Warcraft Classic.
• The Blizzard Arcade Collection includes three remakes.
• Hero Missions in Overwatch 2 could include hundreds of missions blending different enemies, objectives and maps.

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Overall, the keynote presentation wasn't compelling enough to warrant an incrementally bullish stance on the stock, the analyst wrote. Specifically, the Diablo 2 announcement wasn't a surprise as given reports of its existence and a World of Warcraft expansion was widely expected.

"We are encouraged by the positive online response to D2R and Mercenaries and see those titles as having the greatest upside potential versus our model," the analyst wrote.

Bottom line, management's presentation was strong enough to support its recent guidance for growth in 2021.

ATVI Price Action: Shares of Activision traded lower by 4.1% Monday at $96.58.

(Photo: BlizzConline 2021)