Electronic Arts (EA) may be one of the biggest names in video gaming around, but that does not spare it from analyst scrutiny. In fact, some analysts have emerged with a growing concern about EA’s near-term future. Investors were not quite so pessimistic, however, and they sent shares up fractionally in the closing minutes of Tuesday’s trading.
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Two separate analysts came out with reports about EA, and the news was far from all good. Stifel analysts, noted one report, kept their Hold rating in place on the stock, but cut the price target down. Originally, the target stood at $167, but with the cut, that dropped to $159. Stifel analysts reported concern about the performance of key tentpole properties like the latest Battlefield release, as well as EA Sports FC 25.
That was not all, though, as MSN reported that Oppenheimer analysts pulled a similar path, keeping their Outperform rating in place, but cutting the price target back to $165 against the $170 per share it was at previously. Here, Oppenheimer looks for a “negative trend in investor sentiment” ahead of the next earnings report. Modest sales of the new Dragon Age installment, as well as a decline in Apex Legends players prompted Oppenheimer’s concerns.
Origin Reaches its End
And then, in a move which would likely not win EA many fans, it announced that EA Origin—its PC gaming service—would be shut down on April 17. Interested gamers would have to migrate to the new EA app, noted a Gamerant report, in order to keep getting access.
Though in this case, EA is shutting down for a good reason: mechanical issues. Microsoft (MSFT) will no longer support 32-bit software after that date, which means a migration to 64-bit software is on tap for nearly anything. Though this will not sit well with PC gamers; anyone running a 32-bit PC will need a whole new computer altogether, as the EA app will not work with older devices.
Is Electronic Arts a Good Stock to Buy?
Turning to Wall Street, analysts have a Moderate Buy consensus rating on EA stock based on 11 Buys and five Holds assigned in the past three months, as indicated by the graphic below. After a 14.66% rally in its share price over the past year, the average EA price target of $170.25 per share implies 18.71% upside potential.
