Pachter expects weak results from Take Two's Q1

A research note issued by Wedbush Morgan Securities analyst Michael Pachter today predicts that Take Two's first quarter results, which will be announced tonight, will be in line with the company's much-reduced targets.

Pachter is predicting revenue of $240 million and a loss per share of $0.14, which is right in the middle of Take Two's own current guidance of revenues of $230 to $250 million, and slightly ahead of what he describes as the consensus estimate of $238 million in revenue.

Those figures fall well below Take Two's revenues in the same period last year, when the firm recorded over half a billion dollars in revenue and eearnings per share of $0.79, and Pachter expects the disappointing results to be reflected in cautious guidance for 2006.

"We think that Take-Two will continue to face a challenging retail environment over the next six months," he commented. "As we see no positive catalysts in the near term, we recommend that investors stay on the sidelines for the next few months until Take-Two can demonstrate that it can deliver on its guidance."

For the full year, Pachter is predicting that Take Two's earnings per share will be a mere $0.30 - significantly below the consensus estimate of $0.63, and far below the firm's earnings in fiscal 2005 ($0.53) and fiscal 2004 ($1.06).