A lot of eyes in the gaming community are watching Take-Two Interactive (TTWO) like a hawk following word about its upcoming Grand Theft Auto VI game release. And Take-Two notched up over 2% in Monday afternoon’s trading after UBS upgraded shares.
UBS, via analyst Christopher Schoell, raised its rating on Take-Two from Neutral to Buy, and also hiked the price target on Take-Two shares from $170 to $230 per share. The combination of growing demand for Grand Theft Auto VI and a “grand pipeline” to follow suggests that Take-Two is likely to win in the short term and potentially win in the long term as well.
Interestingly, there is such a demand for Grand Theft Auto VI that many gamers are already planning to cut purchases of other games to accommodate its purchase. The report noted that 70% of gamers in a UBS study would follow such a strategy, and that means that other game makers were likely to modify their own release schedules to not have to compete with Grand Theft Auto VI‘s arrival.
Oddly Dark Signs
But even with these results, there are some deeply distressing signs coming out around Take-Two. First, there is the matter of an oddly antagonistic attitude toward its customer base. It recently took down a YouTube channel featuring Grand Theft Auto modder group Revolution Team, essentially making clear that it does not want mods to be used with the series. With one video reportedly getting over 100,000 views, that may be a lot of players suddenly alienated.
Moreover, reports also emerged about Take-Two insiders selling stock. Chief Financial Officer Lainie Goldstein sold nearly $9 million worth of stock recently, and other insiders have sold a combined total of $18 million, with no insider purchases spotted, according to one report. Though there are many reasons to sell stock, those sales are particularly noteworthy. TipRanks data notes no insider buying since October of 2024.
Is Take-Two a Buy or Sell?
Turning to Wall Street, analysts have a Strong Buy consensus rating on TTWO stock based on 17 Buys and one Hold assigned in the past three months, as indicated by the graphic below. After a 12.9% rally in its share price over the past year, the average TTWO price target of $206.17 per share implies 8.51% upside potential
