MoffettNathanson hits ‘pause’ on Take-Two, downgrades to Neutral

MoffettNathanson analyst Clay Griffin downgraded Take-Two Interactive Software to Neutral from Buy with a price target of $167, down from $169. The analyst sees an “exciting next two years” for Take-Two as its biggest franchise comes out of a ten-year development period, and is ostensibly supported by a pool of other meaningful projects. However, most of that is well understood and reflected in the stock, the analyst tells investors in a research note. The firm also “can’t help but note” a series of headlines on industry layoffs and notions of challenged fundamental economics in the video game industry. “At the risk of leaving the party early, we think this could be a decent time to hit pause on Take-Two,” writes MoffettNathanson.