Is Zynga Stock a Buy Under New CEO?

Zynga Inc ZNGA founder Mark Pincus surprisingly took back the helm of his company yesterday, forcing CEO Don Mattrick, a Microsoft Corporation veteran, to resign. The one-year experiment without Pincus at the helm did little to revive the company; instead, the stock is down nearly 31 percent in the past 52 weeks. After hours, Zynga slipped another 9 percent as investors were not encouraged by the news.

Analysts at Wedbush, who have an outperform and $6 price target on the stock, said in a note that Mattrick's "sudden departure may reflect growing frustration with the pace of Zynga's turnaround, both inside the company and among many investors." Given the press release language, Wedbush also speculated that there is more to the story – either Mattrick asked to be removed or the Board felt he and Pincus did not get along well enough, particularly since Pincus controls more than 60 percent of the company's voting power.

Specific to the announcement, Wedbush says the timing is also suspect because Q1 2015 was a strong quarter, according to the CFO. Zynga reports earnings on May 7 after the market closes.

Despite the negative initial reaction, Wedbush analysts are holding their ground, stating that Zynga is on the Wedbush "Investment Committee's Best Ideas List."