Analysts expect strong earnings from Activision today

Anticipating a strong third-quarter earnings report from Activision this afternoon, analysts at UBS Investment Research have reiterated their "buy" rating on the company's stocks. UBS analyst Mike Wallace also raised his price target for stock in Activision (ATVI) from $23 to $28 in a report released this morning. Recently, both Bear Stearns and Thomas Weisel Partners issued "peer perform" ratings for the Doom 3 publisher.

Activision's stock opened today at $23.65 and peaked at $24.09 just before noon on the East Coast. Its 52-week range has seen a low of $12.51 and a high of $23.53, but Wallace said third-quarter sales of games like Call of Duty: Finest Hour and Tony Hawk's Underground 2 have helped boost Activision's bottom line.

"With strong business momentum and with good visibility into fiscal year 2006, we still view [Activision] as one of the few companies that can grow through the transition year," Wallace said.

We'll have more news on Activision's earnings and outlook later today.