Electronic Arts stock has surged ahead of the release of its first college football video game in 11 years. EA stock on Thursday was in the buy zone of its recent breakout.
Redwood City, Calif.-based Electronic Arts plans to launch its game "EA Sports College Football 25" on July 19 for the Sony PlayStation 5 console and Microsoft Xbox Series X and S consoles.
EA hasn't made a college football video game since the release of its "NCAA Football 14" game in 2013.
TD Cowen analyst Doug Creutz says "College Football 25" has the potential to boost EA's fiscal second-quarter results.
In a client note Thursday, Creutz said demand for the game could "meaningfully exceed" his sales estimate of 3 million units in fiscal 2025, which started April 1. His online sales checks indicate that demand for the game is "running ahead of what we have historically seen for 'Madden,' " EA's pro football game.
Creutz rates EA stock as buy with a price target of 163.
On the stock market today, EA stock advanced 0.8% to close at 145.30.
EA Stock Gets Price-Target Increase
On June 24, EA stock broke out of a cup-with-handle base at a buy point of 139.09, according to IBD MarketSurge charts. The 5% buy zone extends to 146.04.
Elsewhere on Wall Street, Jefferies analyst James Heaney assumed coverage of EA stock with a buy rating. He also raised his firm's price target on EA stock to 165 from 160.
"EA has unrivaled scale in sports and live services across multiple genres," Heaney said in a client note Thursday. The company's soccer franchise "EA Sports FC" along with "College Football 25" should sustain mid-single-digit sales growth in its sports category, he said.
Heaney also raised his price target on EA peer Take-Two Interactive Software. He increased the price target on TTWO stock to 185 from 175 with a buy rating. On Thursday, Take-Two stock rose 1.8% to close at 151.52.
Take-Two shares are being driven by excitement over the company's "Grand Theft Auto 6" video game, due out in fall 2025.
Cowen's Creutz rates TTWO stock as a "top pick" with a buy rating and price target of 173.
EA stock ranks third out of 19 stocks in IBD's Computer Software-Gaming industry group, according to IBD Stock Checkup. It has an IBD Composite Rating of 79 out of 99.
Take-Two ranks seventh in the group with a Composite Rating of 35.
Follow Patrick Seitz on X, formerly Twitter, at @IBD_PSeitz for more stories on consumer technology, software and semiconductor stocks.
