UPDATE: Brean Capital Reiterates Buy Rating, Raises PT on Activision Blizzard as Company is Managing Well Against Industry Headwinds

In a report published Friday, Brean Capital analyst Todd Mitchell reiterated a Buy rating on

, and raised the price target from $20.00 to $22.00. In the report, Brean Capital noted, “Activision beat expectations with a 12% decline in revenue to $2.27 billion and a nearly flat non-GAAP EPS of $0.79. Results are a tribute to Activision's strong execution in a difficult macro environment. Consumers snatched up over 7 million next generation consoles in 2013, stealing wallet from prior gen software. Moreover, two of Activision's biggest franchises, Call of Duty and Skylanders, took on reinvigorated challenges from EA's (EA, Buy, $26.46) Battlefield 4 and Disney's (DIS, Not Rated, $75.56) Infinity. Activision faces a tough 1H14 comp, with sell through of CoD and associated DLC expected to be down, and high inventory levels of Skylanders at channel partners expected to quash reorders. We look for a mini-rebound in March with the release of an expansion of Diablo III, and then a return to growth in the Fall with the launch of Destiny and a WoW expansion. In the interim, results should be smoothed over by free-to-play titles: HearthStone: Heroes of Warcraft, Heroes of the Storm and Call of Duty: China. Given our positive outlook for the industry in 2014, Activision's strong release slate, and proven execution, we are raising our target price to $22 from $20, and reiterate our Buy rating.” Activision Blizzard closed on Thursday at $17.17.