The gaming industry’s two largest equipment providers – International Game Technology and Scientific Games – posted double-digit increases to their stock prices during November, sending the AGEM Index to its 26th year-over-year monthly increase.
The Index, compiled by Las Vegas-based financial advisor Applied Analysis on behalf of the Association of Gaming Equipment Manufacturers, charts the monthly stock prices of 12 global gaming equipment providers.
During November, seven of the 12 companies jumped in value when compared with October.
The Index’s results mirrored the stock market performance overall during the month, Applied Analysis said. The S&P 500 was up almost 3 percent, the Dow Jones Average rose nearly 4 percent, and the NASDAQ increased a little more than 2 percent.
Scientific Game saw its stock price grow 10.6 percent on the NASDAQ in November, with a close of $52.65. The company’s stock value has increased almost 257 percent in the last 12 months, capping a turnaround following a management shakeup.
Meanwhile, Everi Holdings has seen its stock price climb more than 277 percent in the same period on New York Stock Exchange.
IGT saw its stock price increase almost 17 percent on the New York Stock Exchange in November.
Australian slot machine developer Aristocrat Technologies made the most news during the month with its $990 million purchase of social gaming provider Big Fish Games from Churchill Downs. The deal is expected to close in the first quarter of 2018. In August, Aristocrat acquired Plarium, an Israeli social game company, for $500 million. The transaction closed in October.
“The Big Fish acquisition comes in the wake of a moderating financial performance,” Applied Analysis wrote. “On a year-over-year basis, revenues at Big Fish decreased by $4.4 million in the third quarter … and (cashflow) declined by $10.2 million, largely from an increase in user acquisition expense and overall operating expenses.”
In the AGEM Index, Aristocrat saw its stock price decline 7.8 percent during November on the Australian Exchange.
Applied Analysis said Aristocrat’s deals were the latest in “a series of high-value transactions in the social gaming space.”
In 2016, Caesars Entertainment sold Playtika to a consortium of Chinese investors for $4.4 billion, while IGT parted ways with its DoubleDown Casino division to a South Korean company for $825 million.
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