"Apex Legends/Electronic Arts
- Electronic Arts on Thursday announced that its latest game "Apex Legends" hit 10 million gamers in three days.
- Rival Fortnite's viewership on the streaming site Twitch was "basically chopped in half" following EA's release, said Jefferies in a note seen by Bloomberg.
- EA's stock rallied on Friday and extended gains Monday to its highest level in four months.
- Watch Electronic Arts trade live.
Electronic Arts gained as much as 9.5% to $106.88 on Monday, its highest level in four months, on the popularity of its latest game "Apex Legends," which is considered a challenger to the widely popular "Fortnite."
Within three days of its Feb. 4 debut, the number of gamers playing "Apex Legends" had crossed 10 million and there were about 1 million people logged on at the same time, EA said in a press release on Thursday. The announcement sent shares up 16% on Friday.
Like its rival "Fortnite," EA's game provides a battle royale experience in which multiple players fight for survival at the same time.
Fortnite's viewership on the video-game streaming site Twitch was "basically chopped in half" in the days following the Apex release, said Jefferies in a research note seen by Bloomberg. Impressed by the strong first week data, Jefferies analyst Timothy O'Shea named Apex Legends as the company's "hottest game in years."
Jefferies raised its price target to $90 from $80, according to Bloomberg.
The figures of EA's latest game come just days after the company lowered its annual revenue guidance to about $4.75 billion from $5.20 billion following weak sales of its "Battlefield V" title amid a competitive gaming market.
EA is up 27% so far this year.
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