Raymond James analyst Andrew Marok upgraded Activision Blizzard (ATVI) to Outperform from Market Perform with a $95 price target. Following last year’s announcement that Microsoft (MSFT) had agreed to acquire Activision for $95 per share in an all-cash transaction, Activision has traded at a persistent discount to the deal price driven by concerns around regulatory bodies blocking the deal, and the extended period until deal close, Marok tells investors in a research note. In the months since, however, trends in Activision’s core business have improved significantly, making a price drop on a deal break “less precipitous for a standalone ATVI share price,” says the analyst. Marok still believes the deal will close as proposed, and as such, sees Activision’s risk/reward “as having shifted solidly to the positive.” He sees standalone company share support levels in the low- to mid-$60s.
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