ValueAct Builds up a $1.1B Stake in Nintendo; Says: Next Netflix And Disney+

Nintendo is called to become one of the largest digital media services in the world. Or at least it is what San Francisco activist investor firm ValueAct believes and the reason the firm decided to increase its stake in the Mario Bros' company to $1.1B, according to a letter seen by Reuters.

After starting its position in Nintendo in April 2019, ValeAct has been growing it calmly in the past year, and it took profit of the sell-off in February and March to build up is bet to a very decent 2% stake, or about 2.6 million units of Nintendo shares, known as NTDOY in Wall Street, and 7974 in Tokyo.

According to the sources, Nintendo didn't want to talk too much about the move. However, a spokesperson from the company told Reuters that Nintendo is well aware of the stake, and they are communicating with ValueAct about that.

Nintendo said:

Nintendo Would be The Next Netflix And Disney+

However, according to the letter to its investors, ValueAct shared its vision about the Japanese giant, and it is brilliant.

Although the firm considers that Nintendo had not prospered as much as other video software companies competitors such as Activision or EA in the last decade, the company is developing a digital transition that will put it at the forefront of the entertainment industry.

The note stated:

Nintendo's future is bright, ValueAct added as the firm considers that the room for improvement in the entertainment and software business sectors is enormous.

According to sources, ValueAct has had several meetings with the Nintendo management, but it is not looking for a seat on the board. However, they are more focused on management and work with them behind the scenes.

That being said, Nintendo is one of the biggest bets taken by ValueAct after the announcement of a $1.2 billion investment in Citigroup, the United States bank conglomerate. Previously, the firm made a 7% stake in JSR Corp, the chip and display materials maker.

Nintendo Shares Analysis

Shares of Nintendo traded sharply higher on Tuesday following the news of the ValueAct stake. In Wall Street, NTDOY jumped from $52,46, the minimum since April 13, to trade as high as 55,92, its highest level in a year.

In the Tokyo stock market, Nintendo shares, 7974, closed 2.06% positive on Wednesday around ¥47,100, near the highs of December 10, 2019.

According to Mat Piscatella, a games industry analyst at The NPD Group, Nintendo is also benefiting from the social distancing measures taken due to the coronavirus pandemic. In addition, Mario Bros company topped software charts as "Animal Crossing: New Horizons" was the best selling game in March.

In that framework, Nintendo Switch units doubled in march 2020 in the United States after comparing with the same month in 2019.

Piscatella also tweeted that Nintendo performed better than its competitors PlayStation4 and Xbox One. While Nintendo Switch hardware spending grew more than double between March 2019 and 2020, the other two grew by more than 25%.

Technically, the Nintendo chart looks bullish, especially after the break above the $55.00 area. In the case that the unit is able to consolidate levels and close above that figure, it will make a case for bulls.

Next resistances are now at $56.00, 56.90, and 58.00 just before the eleven years high at $58.45. To the downside, the next support is at 53.20 and then the significant floor at 52.40.

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