FBR Capital upgraded Six Flags Entertainment (SIX) to Outperform, an equivalent rating to “Buy,” as the company introduces virtual reality experiences to some of its parks this season. The firm expects this move to lift EBITDA and attendance.
VR ROLLER COASTER: FBR Capital analyst Barton Crockett upgraded Six Flags to Outperform from Market Perform, saying the company's already “solid momentum” will be helped by its “industry-leading” effort to implement new virtual reality technology on roller coasters at nine parks this season. If VR's popularity is comparable to a new coaster, Six Flags could be seen as introducing more marketable new attractions this year than ever before, the analyst told investors in a research note.
Crockett said he sees a potential lift of more than 5% to EBITDA and 2% to attendance, adding he believes the cost of adding VR to a coaster to be very low, with Samsung (SSNLF) helping defray the cost by using this as a promotional platform. The analyst raised his price target to $64 from $58 on Six Flags' shares.
SAMSUNG PARTNERSHIP: On March 3, Six Flags and Samsung Electronics America announced a broad marketing partnership which appoints Samsung as the “Official Technology Partner” of the theme park company. The partnership includes the debut of North America's first Virtual Reality Roller Coasters, using Samsung Gear VR powered by Facebook's (FB) Oculus, offering a full immersive, virtual riding experience to riders.
OTHERS TO WATCH: In addition to Facebook, which has garnered a great deal of attention with it Oculus VR unit, a number of other tech giants are eyeing VR as a next frontier. Google (GOOG; GOOGL) announced on Wednesday it was bringing Cardboard compatibility to iPhone's iOS, having published a software developer kit. Apple (AAPL) is said to have assembled a team of experts in virtual reality and is building prototypes of headsets that could one day rival Facebook's Oculus Rift or Microsoft's (MSFT) Hololens, according to a Financial Times report published on January 31. Sony's (SNE) Playstation Virtual Reality headset may ship this Fall, the Verge reported in February, citing comments from GameStop (GME) CEO Paul Raines in an interview with Fox Business.
