BofA recommended buying shares in the publisher of "GTA VI" ahead of the game's release

Bank of America reaffirmed its “buy” rating on shares of U.S. video game publisher Take-Two Interactive (owner of Rockstar Games) ahead of the November 19 release of the action-adventure game GTA VI— the most anticipated, as Reuters reported, video game in history, as reported by Business Insider (BI). At the same time, the bank lowered its price target for Take-Two shares from $368 to $330 per share, but even the new target is 64% higher than the closing price on October 27 ($201.3).

While the market awaits the new release, Take-Two’s stock has fallen sharply: from the start of the year through October 27, it has lost 21%. On Wednesday, in Nasdaq premarket trading, the stock fell another 0.3% to $200.7. “The stock remains undervalued given its long-term growth potential, which we believe will soon become apparent,” BI quotes BofA analyst Omar Dessouki as saying.

Investors fear a sharp decline in profits in fiscal year 2029, when the frenzy surrounding GTA VI subsides after the game’s release, Dessuki notes in a commentary cited by StreetInsider. Market participants are also concerned that Take-Two’s current stock price may already reflect peak earnings, according to the same commentary from the bank. BofA considers these concerns to be exaggerated and expects the company’s earnings per share to grow by approximately 15% per year in the long term, according to MT Newswires.

According to BofA analysts, Take-Two’s profit growth will be driven by its online mode—GTA Online: by fiscal year 2029, it could account for 40–60% of earnings per share, MT Newswires reports. The online mode continues to generate revenue even after the game itself has been sold: players purchase virtual currency, additional content, and other in-game items. In its financial statements, Take-Two classifies these as recurrent consumer spending.

Take-Two has not disclosed how much revenue GTA Online currently generates: its latest annual report only lists the share of the entire Grand Theft Auto franchise—12.4% of revenue for fiscal year 2026, which ended on March 31.

The first data on how much players are willing to spend will become available after the launch of GTA VI’s online mode, which BofA expects in the first quarter of 2027. According to the bank, the market will then have to raise its expectations for Take-Two’s long-term earnings per share (EPS) growth. In that case, the company’s stock—which currently trades at 16 times the bank’s EPS forecast for fiscal year 2028—will appear undervalued, according to Investing.com.

The American investment bank Jefferies also recommends buying Take-Two shares: in mid-October, it reaffirmed its “Buy” rating and a price target of $300. According to Jefferies analysts, investors are underestimating the potential of GTA VI.

Jefferies believes that the PC version of the game will drive additional sales if it is released a few months after the console version—much sooner than has typically been the case for the series’ developer, Rockstar Games. This could also speed up the launch of the online mode, which is intended to keep players engaged once the initial excitement for the console version begins to fade.

The analyst consensus on Take-Two shares is "Buy." Their average price target of $285.10 per share implies a 42% upside potential over the next year.

This article was AI-translated and verified by a human editor