With the disappointing theatrical holiday performance of “Bee Movie” and the poor retail showing at Christmastime of the latest Shrek DVD, Wall Street is expecting a solid albeit less-than-satisfying quarter for DreamWorks Animation Stuidio.
Michael Pachter, an analyst for Wedbush Securities, said in a note to clients on Friday that he expected fourth quarter revenue and earnings to rise 27 percent from last year when they are announced on Tuesday. Still, he has just a hold on the stock – which he expects to rise to $25 a share over the next year. It closed Friday at $23.59.
The once red-hot Hollywood studio, the force behind the Shrek franchise, has seen its stock fall 14 percent over the past year as the latest in the green-ogre series, “Shrek the Third,” and Jerry Seinfeld’s “Bee Movie,” failed to overwhelm audiences.
Investors in the studio are hoping a panda will do for the bottom line what the bee couldn’t.
Goldman Sachs is a bit more positive on the shares. It sees the mid-year release of “Kung Fu Panda” as being able to draw bodies into moviehouses the way “Bee Movie” couldn’t.