Small video game company Majesco Entertainment (COOL) has seen its shares drop 42% in 2013. The drop comes off of earnings misses and lowered guidance. The gaming company, popular for its Zumba Fitness line of games, is trading for around $0.60 a share. Can two new gaming updates send shares back above $1.00?
On Friday morning, Majesco Entertainment announced its plans to launch "Zumba Kids" for the XBOX 360 Kinect and Nintendo Wii. The game will target kids ages 7 to 12. Mini-games and dances feature over 30 songs, including hits from Justin Bieber and Willow Smith.
The game has a chance to be successful for Majesco Entertainment. "Zumba Kids" will potentially have a cool factor among kids, as the "Dance Central" games have proved popular with children. The game could also be a good gift idea from parents, as it represents a way for kids to possibly lose weight. There are millions of overweight kids in America. The game could get the blessing from healthcare organizations if it can get kids off the couch and playing a movement based game.
"Zumba Kids" will be released during the holiday season, which could also help propel sales. The game pairs nicely with the latest Zumba Fitness game, "Zumba Fitness World Party". "Zumba Fitness World Party" will be released in October for XBOX One, XBOX 360, Nintentdo Wii, and the Nintendo WiiU.
Weeks ago, Majesco Entertainment announced its "Zumba Dance" game for the iPad and Android based tablets. Available for $4.99, the game is one of the best-selling health and fitness games in over 45 countries. The tablet version is similar to the console game and offers 20 to 60 minute workouts, tracks calories, and also helps users find live classes nearby.
The new kids game doesn't solve the problem of Majesco's dependence on the Zumba Fitness line. However, the game does help expansion of the franchise into new markets. The two new console games and tablet based version offer excitement to the stock. Strong sales of each of these products could lead to a revenue and earnings beat for the fiscal year. Any positive news and sales movement could send shares back over $1.
Analysts expect Majesco Entertainment to post a loss of $0.15 per share in fiscal 2013. Revenue is expected to decline 48.7% to $132.3 million. As you can see, analysts aren't expecting much from the company. If any of these games surprises or posts strong sales, Majesco investors could be in for a wild ride upwards. In fiscal 2014, the company is expected to post a profit of $0.01 with revenue returning to $84.0 million. Majesco is a great speculative stock going forward with a high risk high reward opportunity going into the 2013 holiday season.
*Disclosure-Author Owns Shares of COOL at Time of Writing*
