Sterne Agee: Video Games A 'Bright Spot' Over Thanksgiving Weekend, GameStop Reiterated At Buy

According to Arvind Bhatia of Sterne Agee, video game sales remained a “bright spot” during Thanksgiving weekend based on the analyst's checks. Bhatia notes that Black Friday traffic at GameStop GME may have been lower this year compared to last year, but this doesn't alter the company's performance for the quarter. GameStop ran an event called GameStop Family weekend from November 21 through November 23 which coincided with the launch of Nintendo's Super Smash Bros for Wii U as well as Pokemon Omega Ruby and Pokemon Alpha Sapphire for 3DS. The analyst notes that this event may have helped attract Black Friday sales from shoppers looking for more casual and family friendly games. Bhatia's checks also showed that both Xbox and PlayStation consoles saw unit sales increases year over year, boding well for not only GameStop but the entire industry. Finally, Bhatia notes that GameStop's decision to extend its Cyber Monday deals until December 7 is “recognition of the changing consumer shopping patterns.” Shares are Buy rated with a $48 price target.