EIDOS SHARE PRICE
SOARS ON MARKETS
Copyright 2001 www.tombraiderchronicles.com
[ October 2nd 2001 ]
Tomb
Raider publishers Eidos PLC saw their share price
soar 8% during mid-morning trading after heavyweight
brokerage firm Goldman Sachs initiated coverage
on the stock with an "out-performer" rating, Ananova
reports today.
London
based Eidos PLC had weathered a financial storm
during the past two years after delays from the
release of Sony’s Playstation II console and the
cancellation of the Sega Dreamcast took its toll.
Earlier this year the company presented its shareholders
with a £51.7m rights-issue fundraising initiative
which saw every third share offered at half price.
However,
the imminent release of Microsoft Corp’s X-BOX
and Nintendo Co Ltd’s Game Cube has injected a
new financial confidence into the software industry
with analysts predicting an expansion of the games
market to an estimated 18.9 billion in 2003 based
on current growth.
With
no new Tomb Raider product planned for this year,
Eidos will be forced to rely on less well-established
titles, with visibility further impaired by its
over-reliance on second-half releases, cautioned
the broker.
Nevertheless,
the broker said Eidos is still undervalued compared
to its peers, and put a DCF price target of 235
pence on the shares. "We expect that positive
news flow and earnings momentum as the market
returns to growth will drive an expansion in sector
ratings," said Goldman.
This
confidence reflected Eidos Interactive's share
price which at 11.15 am this morning was up 12-1/2
pence or 8.1% to 166.
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