Unity upgraded to Hold from Underperform at Jefferies

Jefferies analyst Andrew Uerkwitz upgraded Unity (U) to Hold from Underperform with a price target of $27, down from $29. The firm’s latest digital mobile game ad survey finds that 2023 sentiment has turned negative, with results that were “mixed” for Unity, the analyst tells investors. 68% developers on older engines expressed little intent to upgrade and ad spend is likely deteriorating, but in the “retention/ROAS” questions, Unity scores “generally well,” says the analyst, who notes that upgrade of stock was made with shares hitting the firm’s price target. Ad spend trends were “not as optimistic” as in the firm’s last survey, but results were “generally positive” for AppLovin (APP), which continues to see share shift and positive growth trends, added the analyst, who keeps a Buy rating on AppLovin shares.