UPDATE: Bank of America Upgrades Activision Blizzard to Buy, Raises PT Ahead of Big Games Lineup

In a report published Thursday, Bank of America analyst Justin Post upgraded the rating on

from Neutral to Buy, and raised the price target from $20.00 to $25.00. In the report, Bank of America noted, “We see several upcoming title catalysts including a Diablo 3 expansion (3/25), Destiny (9/9), a WoW expansion (2H14), Hearthstone (out of Beta this quarter), and an online version of Call of Duty in China (possibly 2H14). Given this title slate, we see greater relative revenue and earnings upside potential than for EA. We think Destiny could be ‘the' title of E3 and a top game for next-gen console players this year. Also, a WoW expansion pack should aid sub trends. Based on strong early next-gen console sales and title line up, we are increasing our PO to $25 (from $20) based on 18x our higher 2015E EPS of $1.38 (up from $1.31), a P/E multiple in-line with EA.” Activision Blizzard closed on Wednesday at $20.60.