Nintendo Shares Surge To Record High

Nintendo stock has risen to its highest ever level since the company was first listed on the Osaka Securities Exchange in January 1962, with JPMorgan Securities giving the company an “overweight” rating on its earnings prospects (meaning that stock is expected to outperform an average return over the next six to twelve months). According to a Bloomberg report, the company’s stock climbed by 3.2 percent to 37,450 yen ($313.32) in Friday's trading, compared to a 1.2 percent average gain on the Topix stock market index in Tokyo. The stock is currently trading at 37,300 yen following the close of Monday trading in Japan, still holding good position. Nintendo recently had to raise its fiscal year sales and profit forecasts for a fourth time, with sales for year ended March 31st put at ¥966 billion ($8.1bn) and net profit at more than ¥120 billion ($1.0bn). Shares in the company have more than doubled over the past year as a consequence of the success of both the Nintendo DS and Wii. "The stock's rally reflects investors' positive sentiment about Nintendo's earnings," quotes Bloomberg of Junichi Misawa at STB Asset Management. "The yen's exchange rate has a big impact on the company's net income." Nintendo has significant foreign currency and property investments, which has often seen the company’s profits vary wildly from quarter to quarter. The current low value of the yen against the dollar, and particularly the euro, has only added to Nintendo’s record high profits. According to the Bloomberg report, JPMorgan analysts expect the company’s operating profit to remain strong over the medium term and for share prices to rise another 15 percent by April 2008.