Wednesday, December 02, 2009

Can't Get Anything by These Analysts

DreamWorks had its dog and pony show for market analysts yesterday, and the green eyeshade boys and girls picked up on the obvious.

Dec. 2 (Bloomberg) -- DreamWorks Animation SKG Inc., maker of “Shrek” movies, rose the most since May in Nasdaq trading after an analyst recommended the stock and the company predicted higher profit margins in 2010.

The Glendale, California-based filmmaker will generate “significant” amounts of cash next year, President Lewis Coleman said today on a conference call. Tony Wible, a Philadelphia-based analyst with Janney Montgomery Scott LLC, raised his 2010 profit estimate and recommended investors buy the shares.

DreamWorks Animation gained $3.36, or 9.7 percent, to $37.96 at 4 p.m. New York time. The shares have risen 50 percent this year.

So we can say that DWA's rollout of product for the Wall Street crowd at its Glendale campus on Tuesday was a success, can we not?

One analyst was so impressed by [How to Train Your Dragon] after a screening that he upgraded DreamWorks to buy from neutral, in a note to clients.

"The film is shaping up to be a major hit with a strong marketing campaign, merchandise opportunities, and franchise value." says Janney Montgomery Scott analyst Tony Wible ...

This pretty much tracks with what crew members have been telling me, also my own eyes after viewing the HTTYD trailer: It's a winner.

What always amazes me is how DreamWorks haters just can't bring themselves to admit that the studio makes any quality films. Sure, not every one is a gem, but they all have something. And frankly, the Emeryville studio up in the Bay Area isn't a flawless creator of animation either. (I found the first 40 minutes of Wall-E riveting; unfortunately it was attached to a featurette entitled 2001 With Fat People which was way less riveting.)

So put me in with all those stock pickers who believes that DreamWorks Animation is going to have a banner year. Its 2010 features will do gang-busters, its Nick teevee shows will do well, and Jeffrey K. will continue doing hand-stands up there on his high wire.

Here's the L.A. Times take on the analysts' meeting.

12 comments:

Anonymous said...

Are you happy now Steve? You just upset a pixie. You better apologize for having a brain.

Steve Hulett said...

When you rile a pixie, you rile a pixie.

They have piranha teeth.

Steve Hulett said...

Ah, it's always lovely when a moron gives you just one sentence that proves their idiocy beyond a reasonable doubt

So I'm guessing that you've never seen the Kubrick picture.

Anonymous said...

Oh

My

GOD!

You praised a DW project and pointed out the problems with a Pixar film all in the same post? What WERE you thinking?

I've seen a good sized chunk of "Dragon," and it looked pretty darned good. Looking forward to the film.

Anonymous said...

Looking forward to Dean's new film. It'll be nice to see a DW film people can really care about.

Anonymous said...

"Looking forward to Dean's new film. It'll be nice to see a DW film people can really care about."

So you didn't see Panda? Or do you mean a film YOU can really care about?

Anonymous said...

Uh oh, the Katzenberg Kids are in a snit in this thread. Let me find a tissue for you.

Anonymous said...

Panda was cute. There's nothing wrong with an instantly forgettable kids film.

Michael said...

Everything that comes out about Dragon seems to be uniformly positive, which is cool. I'm looking forward to it.

My 2 Cents said...

I agree, Steve. "2001 with fat people?" It wasn't even that good.

Anonymous said...

There's nothing wrong with an instantly forgettable kids film.

True. Like "Bug's Life" or "Cars"

Anonymous said...

Hyperbole, I'm glad I sold at 41 years ago.

Site Meter