PwC's Entertainment and Media Outlook report has predicted that revenue from interactive games and esports will reach $4.9 billion by 2025, up from $3.4 billion last year. The sector's strong domestic trajectory aligns with a broader global surge in digital leisure spending, where institutional capital is eagerly funding interactive entertainment hubs ranging from European mobile game studios and the lucrative online casino California market to next-generation cloud streaming platforms.

That's a 44% increase in just 4 years.

"COVID-19 created an increase in gaming interest, both from new audiences and those Australians seeking an alternative form of entertainment, alleviating boredom and loneliness during lockdown," stated the report.

"With major sporting events cancelled or postponed during 2020, interactive gaming and esports filled a void for consumers as a way to stay socially connected to their communities through competitive entertainment."

Tax incentives galore for games industry

Growth for gaming is also being supercharged with recently announced government tax incentives for the nascent industry. 

The federal government is offering a 30% tax offset from July next year, and state governments are putting in their own discounts to attract the best businesses.

Privately held games developer Gameloft Brisbane will now double its staff numbers.

"We have been waiting for this news, we are going to double our Brisbane operation from 40 to 80 employees," Gameloft studio manager Dylan Miklashek told News.com.au.

"This can put Australia on a similar level to other countries."

ASX shares playing in the interactive gaming sector

So which companies could ASX investors look at for exposure into the gaming industry?

Here are the 5 most prominent players right now:

• Playside Studios Ltd (ASX: PLY)
• iCandy Interactive Ltd (ASX: ICI)
• Mighty Kingdom Ltd (ASX: MKL)
• Emerge Gaming Ltd (ASX:EM1)
• Esports Mogul Ltd (ASX: ESH)

Cyan portfolio manager Dean Fergie has been a fan of Playside Studios ever since its listing late last year.

"The company has an exciting 12 months ahead with the upcoming release of several new games including titles based on blockbuster movies Legally Blonde and The Godfather which should contribute to a material uplift in revenues in FY22," he said in August.

That pipeline is already starting to bear fruit, with Playside shares rocketing a stunning 110% over the past month.

There seems to be some consolidation between two smaller players, iCandy and Mighty Kingdom. The former bought 7.8% of the latter's shares in September, after Mighty Kingdom's share price plunged 50% since its April listing. 

Emerge Gaming produces games for mobile phones and is profitable, but still very much a microcap at $33.6 million market capitalisation.

Esports Mogul is different to the other 4 companies in that it does not produce games as such. Instead, the company runs e-gaming tournaments for business clients.

"Australia's total e-sports revenue was $6 million in 2020, and this is set to grow to $16 million by 2025." reported PwC.

The post 5 ASX shares in an obscure but booming sector appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

Four ASX shares that have failed to follow the market higher today are listed below. Here's why they are dropping:

Emerge Gaming Ltd (ASX: EM1)

The Emerge Gaming share price has sunk 6% to 3.2 cents. This follows the embattled gaming company's response to a series of questions by the Australian share market operator. In fact, the regulator sought answers for 14 questions. These were largely in relation to questionable statements included in recent announcements.

Imugene Limited (ASX: IMU)

The Imugene share price is down 3.5% to 28.5 cents. Investors have been selling the clinical stage immuno-oncology company's shares despite it announcing an exclusive strategic partnership with Nasdaq-listed clinical-stage biotechnology company, Celularity. The two companies will work together to develop off-the-shelf placental-derived allogeneic therapies for the treatment of solid tumours.

Mesoblast limited (ASX: MSB)

The Mesoblast share price is down 3% to $1.96. This appears to have been driven by concerns over its cash burn. Research done by Ownership Matters, reported in the AFR, estimates that Mesoblast is close to recording $1 billion in cash outflows over the last decade. This has been spent on product development with little success to date.

Nick Scali Limited (ASX: NCK)

The Nick Scali share price has fallen 1% to $12.20. This furniture retailer's shares have been bouncing around today following the release of its full year results. After initially hitting a record high, the company's shares began to tumble. This was possibly due to concerns over its soft start to FY 2022 because of lockdowns. It was for this reason that management was unable to provide guidance for the year ahead.

The post Why Emerge Gaming, Imugene, Mesoblast, & Nick Scali shares are dropping appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

At the time of writing, the company's shares have pulled back slightly to 4.2 cents, still up by 10.53% for the day so far.

What's driving the Emerge Gaming share price?

Emerge Gaming shares are on the move today after the company announced it has surpassed the 1 million paid subscriber milestone for its MIGGSTER platform.

MIGGSTER aims to build an online gaming community with features such as chat, friends and team functionality. Users can pay a monthly subscription fee of A$12.00 per month or an annual subscription of A$113 to access more than 100 games and participate in all worldwide tournaments.

Emerge described the 1 million paid subscriber figure as a key milestone in reaching its goal of "building a globally recognised community which will enable the company to target a broader audience and additional revenue opportunities".

Commenting on this achievement, Emerge Gaming CEO Gregory Stevens said:

I am excited by the achievement of this milestone for the MIGGSTER platform and the progress of our overall growth strategy in Emerge. MIGGSTER demonstrates that our platforms are globally scalable in a profitable manner – it provides an excellent, real world case study which we will use to unlock other opportunities with new partners. Our next milestone is to achieve a 1.5 million paid subscriber community size across all products. As part of the first phase of this growth strategy, we are seeking to rapidly grow subscriber numbers by offering a variety of discounted promotional offerings to prospective subscribers

Foolish takeaway

Emerge Gaming shares have surged by more than 130% over the past 12 months. Year to date, however, the company's shares are not faring so well, and are down by nearly 47%. Based on the current share price, Emerge has a market capitalisation of around $47 million.

The post Why the Emerge Gaming (ASX:EM1) share price is up 11% today appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

This latest move somewhat reverses a downward trend that Emerge shares have been in over the past 7 months or so.

The company spiked in value last October, shooting from around 4 cents a share on 9 October to a high of 19 cents by 23 October. That was a gain of roughly 250%.

But a run of poorly-received developments in the months since cramped investors' enthusiasm for this gaming company. Despite today's share price move, Emerge Gaming is now down around 70% from those highs.

Back in early December 2020, the company crashed close to 50% in one day after just 25,000 gamers signed up for its Miggster platform. The was despite the company recording more than 6 million pre-registrations for the platform. Last Friday, Emerge incidentally announced that Miggster was now up to 500,000 subscribers.

So what's going on with Emerge today?

In a before market release this morning, Emerge announced that it can now boast more than one million subscribers in its overall "community", a number it has previously told investors (last month) it was aiming for.  

Here's some of what Emerge CEO Gregory stevens said of this milestone:

Emerge Gaming (EM1) is pursuing a growth strategy to increase subscribers, revenue and shareholder value, after proving out our Competitive Social Gaming product. We are delighted to achieve the milestone of a 1 million subscriber community in 10 months. The competitive social gaming platforms operated by Emerge continue to demonstrate growth in new subscribers daily. As we drive growth in new subscribers through the current scaling phase of our growth strategy, we are developing exciting new products, features and Go-to-Market channels.

Additionally, Emerge Gaming also announced a new "social gaming show" called 'Social Gaming & Coconuts'.

The show will reportedly debut on 2 June on the GINX Esports TV channel in Europe. It will be a weekly show, with episodes consisting of 24 minutes.

The partnership between Emerge and GINX Esports is for 6 months. It will result in Emerge providing the show to GINX in a license-free capacity, whilst Emerge can "commercialise the show's content" for revenue generation.

Investors seem to approve of these announcements today. On today's share price, Emerge Gaming has a market capitalisation of $42.91 million.

The post Why the Emerge Gaming (ASX:EM1) share price soared 33% today appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

Emerge Gaming share price surges on subscription update 

Emerge Gaming has been growing its user base in South Africa. This comes after its two-year agreement with the country's largest telco Mobile Telephone Networks (MTN) back in late 2019.

On Wednesday, the company announced that ~225,000 paying subscribers had registered on the platform. Additionally, the company had ~105,000 new subscribers registering in the past two months. 

MTN Arena generates revenues by billing a daily subscription fee against mobile subscriber accounts. Users pay a fee of approximately 26 cents a day ($7.80 per month). This fee allows them to enter into competitions involving their favourite mobile social games. Furthermore, subscribers are able to earn rewards and also win cash prizes. Under the agreement, MTN has committed to paying approximately ~A$8,900 per month for monthly prizes. This amount will be dedicated for the first 12 months of the platform's operation. 

Additionally, the company continues to invest in marketing campaigns to drive user adoption and registration to the MTN Arena Platform. The Platform is promoted across multiple digital channels and bulk SMSs to target MTN's 29 million subscribers in South Africa. 

A rollercoaster ride for shareholders 

The Emerge Gaming share price managed to go full circle from around 4.5 cents to as high as 17 cents and back to 4.5 cents between October 2020 and February 2021. 

Its shares surged in October after the company announced that it had received more than 3 million pre-registrations for its MIGGSTER Mobile platform. MIGGSTER is a similar concept as MTN, allowing paying users to enter tournaments and win prizes. 

Its shares came under fire after an ASX query that resulted in the company announcing that there were only 25,674 subscriptions on the MIGGSTER platform. 

While the company has come clean with definitions and revenue, its shares are unlikely to re-test its previous all-time record highs of 17 cents any time soon. 

The post Why the Emerge Gaming (ASX:EM1) share price is up 12% appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

At the time of writing, the e-sports and gaming technology company's shares are swapping hands for 4.3 cents, up 13.16%.

What's pushing the Emerge Gaming share price higher?

The Emerge Gaming share price is soaring higher after the company revealed that it is attracting new subscribers.

In its announcement, Emerge Gaming advised that it has banked around $4.5 million from its platform subscriptions. With more than 300,000 paying subscribers between its MTN Arena and MIGGSTER platforms, the company aims to become the world's largest online gaming community.

Emerge Gaming noted that it was driving growth by offering its products and services across more than 160 countries. In addition, users can pay through credit card, Bitcoin and mobile billing systems, promoting flexible payment options.

A quick take on Emerge Gaming

Emerge Gaming seeks to capture the e-sports market through its online e-sports tournament and social gaming platform and lifestyle hub.

The entertainment company enables subscribers to play against each other via a mobile, console or PC, with rewards and prizes up for grabs through competitions.

Management commentary

Emerge Gaming CEO Greg Steven hailed the progress, saying:

Emerge is feeding the insatiable appetite of the social and casual gaming segments of the market. The uptake in subscriptions is an endorsement of the value proposition in our offering and we are seeing strong user engagement on the platform.

I am enthusiastic about the company's pursuit to substantially grow our online gaming community and the potential for further growth when our new products are launched.

Our financial performance has demonstrated strong early results and the next phase to building a truly global community is for Emerge to target a community size in the tens of millions of subscribers.

The Emerge Gaming share price has gained close to 750% since this time last year. However, year-to-date, the company's shares are down almost 50%.

Based on the current share price, Emerge Gaming has a market capitalisation of roughly $35 million.

The post Why the Emerge Gaming (ASX:EM1) share price is jumping 13% today appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

Strong subscriber growth

The Emerge Gaming share price is on the move today after providing investors with a positive update.

According to its release, Emerge Gaming advised that it has registered a record 154,365 subscribers on its MIGGSTER social gaming platform. The company has a presence in over 160 countries and is seeking to further expand in other geographical markets. This will include new eSports and gaming products to support its already impressive global growth.

Emerge Gaming said that it has sold around $13.03 million worth of subscriptions comprising of monthly, bi-annual, and annual packages. Pleasingly, 79% of its subscribers represent annual subscriptions and is growing daily at a fast pace.

Expansion plans for MIGGSTER platform

In order to become the world's biggest online gaming community with MIGGSTER, Emerge Gaming is focusing on an array of promotional strategies. It will use various marketing channels to drive subscriber community numbers in the hope continue to deliver strong financial results.

Emerge Gaming CEO, Greg Stevens, will provide a market update sometime next week regarding its operational performance. This will consist of updates on its two eSports gaming platforms, future development plans, and the company's business strategy.

About the Emerge Gaming share price

The Emerge Gaming share price has accelerated in the past 12 months, gaining more than 630%. The company's shares were trading less than 1 cent for most of the first half of 2020, before gradually increasing. In October, its shares skyrocketed to reach an all-time high of 17 cents.

Since then, some profit-taking and faded investor hype sent the Emerge Gaming share price to a steady decline.

Based on the current share price, the company commands a market capitalisation of roughly $36 million.

The post Why the Emerge Gaming (ASX:EM1) share price is up 7% today appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

In early trade, the esports and gaming technology company's shares were up as much as 23% to 9 cents.

The Emerge Gaming share price has eased a little since then but is still up 5.5% to 7.7 cents at the time of writing.

Why is the Emerge Gaming share price storming higher?

Investors have been buying the company's shares this morning after it provided an update on the subscription numbers of its MIGGSTER social gaming platform.

According to the release, the MIGGSTER platform has now registered over 100,000 paying subscribers. This compares to 50,860 subscriptions in mid-December.

The company has verified that it has 100,387 subscriptions, comprising 74,366 annual packages, 10,488 bi-annual packages, and 15,533 monthly packages. Management notes that this means 74% of its subscriptions sold to date are annual subscriptions, which are sold at a price of EUR69.00 per annum.

The update reveals that the subscriptions are coming from all corners of the world, but predominantly in Asia. A total of 53% of subscribers are from China (32%) and South East Asia (21%).

In light of the above, the company estimates that MIGGSTER has generated EUR5.65 million (~A$ 9.16 million) in revenue to date.

However, due to its revenue sharing and commissions, the company estimates that it will retain approximately A$3.115 million or ~34% of the subscription value received.

This may have disappointed investors and led to its shares giving back some of those early gains. Especially given that earlier this month Emerge stated that "it has banked first cash receipts from the Emerge operated MIGGSTER social gaming platform to the value of AUD$8.3 million to 31 December 2020."

Outlook

No guidance has been provided. However, management advised that MIGGSTER subscriptions continue to show strong daily growth. It will continue to provide the market with material updates as and when they happen.

The post Why the Emerge Gaming (ASX:EM1) share price rocketed 23% higher today appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

Four shares that are climbing more than most today are listed below. Here's why they are pushing higher:

BetMakers Technology Group Ltd (ASX: BET)

The BetMakers share price is up 3% to 69 cents. This morning the betting technology company revealed that its placement has completed successfully. BetMakers has raised $50 million (before costs) at $0.60 per new share from sophisticated and institutional investors. These funds are being used to acquire the racing and digital assets of UK-based sport betting company Sportech.

Emerge Gaming Ltd (ASX: EM1)

The Emerge Gaming share price has rocketed 18% higher to 9.3 cents. Investors have been buying the esports and gaming technology company's shares following the release of an update on its MIGGSTER social gaming platform. According to the release, Emerge Gaming has banked its first cash receipts from the social gaming platform to the value of A$8.3 million. This covers the period 14 November to 31 December.

Infratil Ltd (ASX: IFT)

The Infratil share price is up 5% to $7.24 following an update on its data centres. According to the release, the investment company has experienced a significant increase in the value of its stake in CDC Data Centres. Infratil's 48.1% investment in CDC is now valued at between A$2,039 million to A$2,334 million. This is up from A$1,597 million to A$1,807 million at 30 September 2020.

Tyro Payments Ltd (ASX: TYR)

The Tyro share price has climbed almost 5% to $3.34 following the release of its latest weekly update. According to the release, Tyro recorded transaction value of $2.626 billion during December. This is an increase of 19% on the same period a year earlier.

The post Why BetMakers, Emerge Gaming, Infratil, & Tyro shares are pushing higher appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

The esports and gaming technology company's shares were up 33% to 10.5 cents in morning trade.

Why is the Emerge Gaming share price rocketing higher?

Investors have been buying the company's shares this morning following the release of an update on its MIGGSTER social gaming platform.

According to the release, Emerge Gaming has banked its first cash receipts from the social gaming platform to the value of A$8.3 million.

The MIGGSTER platform was launched on 14 November 2020 and the first cash receipts represent gross subscription fees received by Emerge in the 48 days since its launch date.

Management also advised that MIGGSTER subscriptions continue to deliver strong daily growth and further material updates will be provided to the market as they transpire.

What are gross subscription fees?

Due to its revenue sharing with Influence Crowd Technologies (formerly known as Tecnología de Impacto Multiple or TIM), not all subscription fees are received by Emerge Gaming.

Management has attempted to clarify the situation by providing a breakdown on how its agreement with Influence Crowd Technologies works.

It explained that the MIGGSTER platform is operated under a licensing agreement with Influence Crowd Technologies to market Emerge's proprietary tournament platform technology into an affiliate sales network under a white-labelled brand.

"Under the licencing agreement, Emerge will earn 64.5% of the Net Revenue from the platform where Net Revenue is determined as gross subscriptions received less direct taxes and other directly attributable platform costs," it commented.

Why has its partner changed its name?

No details were provided to explain why Tecnología de Impacto Multiple (TIM) has changed its name to Influence Crowd Technologies.

However, it is worth noting that there has been negative coverage of TIM in the past due to its connections to companies that have been flagged for using questionable business practices.

The post Why the Emerge Gaming (ASX:EM1) share price is rocketing 33% higher today appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

Today's move caps off what has been a wild few months for Emerge Gaming shares. As recently as May 2020, the company's shares were trading for just 1 cent apiece. However, the shares spiked back in October, climbing as high as 19 cents, representing a year-to-date gain of 600% and a 1,300% gain since 25 May. On today's prices, Emerge shares are still up 305% year to date, but also down more than 42% from October's highs.

So what is Emerge Gaming? And why are the company's shares going ballistic today?

What does the company do?

Emerge Gaming is a company placing itself in the middle of the eSports market. eSports refers to the 'sport' of competitively playing video games. Emerge claims this market is projected to grow to US$1.48 billion in terms of revenue this year.

According to Emerge, it is "changing the eSports gaming landscape" with its flagship 'Arcade X' platform for eSports tournaments.

Arcade X reportedly offers players a "unique and mature gaming experience" through a "hybrid environment" which offers access to both casual and eSport gaming. Emerge states that "with top of the line technological integrations and explored user experiences, it [Arcade X] is without a doubt going to change the way the corporate world and gaming world engage in the future". This platform has apparently been in operation for two years, and has close to 40,000 registered users from around the world.

Emerge also offers a gaming and mobile platform called 'Cloudzen' as an "entertainment platform as a service". Cloudzen offers "various means of communication channels" through game stores, gaming communities and social networking.

However, the company has been in the news for the wrong reasons of late. Just last week, Emerge shares crashed 50% on news that one of the company's platforms – 'Miggster' – had managed to sign up just 25,764 subscribers after attracting more than 6 million 'pre-registrations'.

Why is the Emerge share price rocketing today?

Today's massive spike in the Emerge share price appears related to an ASX announcement the company released just after market open this morning. In this announcement, Emerge told investors a platform called 'MTN Arena' has registered 80,000 new subscribers in South Africa since its launch back in July of this year. MTN Arena is owned by the MTN Group, a public company listed on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange. However, it is operated by Emerge Gaming software.

Emerge and MTN inked an agreement to "distribute, market and operate Emerge's platform technology under the brand "MTN Arena" in South Africa" back in June.

These MTN Arena subscribers are monetised as well, with the use of MTN Arena apparently costing subscribers 3 South African rand (or roughly 26 cents) a day (or $7.80 a month). Emerge reportedly earns 40% of the "net revenue" of this arrangement.

Further, Emerge told investors the two companies are continuing to aggressively market MTN Arena to the "circa 29 million MTN subscribers in South Africa". This is being executed through paid media campaigns, specifically:

…targeted digital campaigns across multiple digital channels and bulk SMS… These campaigns target the middle to low-income mass market promoting tournaments, competitions and prizes through key messaging, video and other digital content in the distribution channels.

It appears investors like what they hear with this update, judging by the performance of the Emerge share price today.

The post ASX stock of the day: Emerge Gaming (ASX:EM1) shares rocket more than 20% appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

Four shares that have failed to follow the market higher today are listed below. Here's why they are dropping lower:

Emerge Gaming Ltd (ASX: EM1)

The Emerge Gaming share price is down 9% to 9 cents. Investors have been selling the eSports and gaming company's shares after it provided another subscriber update for its MIGGSTER platform. Emerge Gaming has now surpassed 50,000 paid subscribers, with the majority on annual plans. However, this still represents only a fraction of the 6 million+ pre-registrations the company received.

Flight Centre Travel Group Ltd (ASX: FLT)

The Flight Centre share price is down 4% to $16.14. A number of travel shares have come under pressure today, possibly due to profit taking after some strong gains recently. Also weighing on Flight Centre's shares is news that it has been dumped out of the ASX 100 index at the quarterly rebalance.

Medical Developments International Ltd (ASX: MVP)

The Medical Developments International share price is down 7% to $6.60. This decline has been driven by the completion of a capital raising. The healthcare company has raised approximately $25 million via a placement to new and existing investors in Australia and internationally. It raised the funds at an 8.5% discount to its last close price of $6.50 per new share. The proceeds will be used to support the commercialisation of its Penthrox product in Europe.

Tyro Payments Ltd (ASX: TYR)

The Tyro share price has fallen 4% to $3.31. This morning the payments company released a trading update which revealed that transaction volumes are up 18% month to date on a same day on day basis. While this is solid growth, it is still trailing its pre-COVID growth rates.

The post Why Emerge Gaming, Flight Centre, Medical Dev International, & Tyro shares are dropping lower appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

In early trade the eSports and gaming technology company's shares rocketed a sizeable 16% higher to 11.5 cents.

The Emerge Gaming share price has since given up all these gains and is now down 10% to 8.9 cents.

What is happening?

This morning Emerge Gaming released an update on the subscriber numbers for its MIGGSTER social gaming platform.

According to the company, the MIGGSTER platform is a gaming and eSports community, leveraging technology to deliver immersive gaming entertainment and social engagement to a global online network of gamers.

Through its platform, casual, social, and hardcore gamers can play hundreds of gaming titles against each other via their mobile, console, or PC and earn rewards and win prizes.

Last week the company's shares came out of a lengthy suspension after announcing that it had achieved 25,674 subscriptions as of 7 December. This was out of a total of over 6 million pre-registrations.

Unsurprisingly, this low conversion rate didn't go down particularly well with investors and led to the Emerge Gaming share price crashing 50% lower on the day.

Where are its subscriber numbers at now?

This morning the company revealed that it has now achieved 50,860 paying subscribers.

These subscriptions comprise 37,512 annual packages, 5,026 six-month packages, and 8,322 monthly packages.

The company also notes that it has an agreement with Tecnología de Impacto Múltiple (TIM) in which TIM guaranteed a minimum of 100,000 paying subscribers within six months of the launch of MIGGSTER. This means Emerge Gaming is now more than halfway to achieving this milestone.

As part of the agreement, if the target is not reached, TIM will pay Emerge Gaming 50% of the cost of prizes put up.

Management commented: "~74% of subscriptions sold to date are annual subscriptions. Emerge is encouraged by the strong growth of subscriptions and will continue to monitor and report on subscription numbers, platform usage and other key metrics as they transpire."

The post The Emerge Gaming (ASX:EM1) share price is on a rollercoaster ride today appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

Four shares that have failed to follow the market higher today are listed below. Here's why they are dropping lower:

Abacus Property Group (ASX: ABP)

The Abacus share price is down 4.5% to $2.96. This follows the completion of its institutional entitlement offer. The property company raised approximately $356 million at a price of $2.90 per new share. This represents a 6.5% discount to its last close price. The proceeds will be used to repay debt and increase its acquisition capacity for continued growth over the medium term.

Emerge Gaming Ltd (ASX: EM1)

The Emerge Gaming share price has crashed a massive 43.5% lower to 5.8 cents. Investors have been heading to the exits in their droves after the gaming technology company revealed just 25,674 paid subscriptions to its MIGGSTER platform. In October the company claimed to have over 6 million pre-registrations for the platform. This means it has so far converted just 0.43% of its pre-registrations.

Jumbo Interactive Ltd (ASX: JIN)

The Jumbo Interactive share price has sunk 7% lower to $12.81. This morning analysts at UBS initiated coverage on the company with a neutral rating and $14.10 price target. The broker notes that Tabcorp Holdings Limited (ASX: TAH) appears to be winning market share in the local online market. It intends to wait for the trend to stabilise before considering a change to its rating.

Woodside Petroleum Limited (ASX: WPL)

The Woodside share price is down almost 2% to $22.71. The catalyst for this decline appears to have been a broker note out of Ord Minnett. This morning the broker downgraded its shares to a hold rating with a $23.80 price target. Its analysts note that the energy producer's CEO has announced plans to retire next year. The broker was surprised by this and notes that it comes at a critical time.

The post Why Abacus, Emerge Gaming, Jumbo, & Woodside shares are dropping lower appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

In morning trade the eSports and gaming technology company's shares sank as much as 50% to 5.2 cents.

At the time of writing, the Emerge Gaming share price is down 41% to 6 cents.

This is also down 65% from its peak of 17 cents in October.

Why is the Emerge Gaming share price crashing lower?

After the market close on Tuesday, Emerge Gaming released an update on the registrations for its MIGGSTER social gaming platform.

In October the company claimed to have over 6 million pre-registrations for the platform, which costs $12 a month or $113 a year for a subscription.

This caught the eye of both investors and stock exchange operator ASX Ltd (ASX: ASX).

The latter appeared concerned by these numbers and over the last few weeks has sent a series of queries to Emerge Gaming.

With the platform now live, the company has been able to reveal just how many of these 6 million pre-registrations have actually signed up.

How many subscriptions has Emerge Gaming achieved?

According to its update, Emerge Gaming has sold a total of 25,674 subscriptions as of 7 December.

This comprises 20,615 annual packages, 1,662 six-month packages, and 3,397 monthly packages. A quick calculation shows this to be worth approximately $2.5 million in revenue. Though, this doesn't include any potential revenue sharing with its partners.

Despite so far only converting 0.43% of its pre-registrations, management remains upbeat on its subscriptions.

It commented: "MIGGSTER subscriptions continue to show encouraging growth and Emerge will continue to provide the market with material updates as they transpire."

However, judging by the Emerge Gaming share price performance on Wednesday, it doesn't appear as though investors are as optimistic as they are.

The post Why the Emerge Gaming (ASX:EM1) share price crashed 50% lower today appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

Once again, there were a few familiar faces but also a couple of surprise entrants in the top five.

Here's the data:

Zip Co Ltd (ASX: Z1P)

Zip shares were incredibly popular with investors again last week. It was the most traded ASX share and accounted for 3.8% of trades on the platform. And although approximately 76% of these trades came from buyers, it was not enough to stop the buy now pay later provider's shares from sinking 15% lower over the five days.

Flight Centre Travel Group Ltd (ASX: FLT)

It wasn't a great week for the Flight Centre share price last week. The travel agent's shares tumbled 15.8% lower over the period amid concerns over a surge in COVID-19 cases globally. This has sparked fears that the travel sector recovery could take longer than expected. Approximately 1.9% of trades on the CommSec platform were attributable to Flight Centre, with 79% of them coming from the buy side.

Emerge Gaming Ltd (ASX: EM1)

This eSports company's shares were popular with investors again last week and contributed 1.5% of trades on the CommSec platform. Approximately 72% of these trades came from buyers. Unfortunately for them, the Emerge Gaming share price crashed 24% lower over the five days.

Afterpay Ltd (ASX: APT)

The ever-popular Afterpay was among the most traded shares last week and was responsible for 1.4% of total trades. The buying and selling was relatively split over the period, with buyers making up 58% of the trades. The Afterpay share price lost 5.3% of its value last week amid weakness in the tech sector.

Credit Clear Ltd (ASX: CCR)

Finally, this receivables management solution provider's shares were popular following their IPO on Monday. Credit Clear accounted for 1.3% of trades on the CommSec platform. Those buyers were rewarded with some very strong gains. The Credit Clear share price finished the week 180% higher than its IPO price of 35 cents.

The post Zip and Credit Clear were among the most traded shares on the ASX last week appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

Today, the company announced a significant milestone for pre-registrations for its MIGGSTER platform. The Emerge Gaming share price rocketed up 12.5% to 16 cents in early trade and has since retreated to 12 cents, up 4.17% at the time of writing.

A new mobile gaming platform

MIGGSTER Mobile is a mobile casual e-sports platform that uses Emerge's proprietary e-sports tournament platform technology. The platform will offer avid mobile gamers the opportunity to turn hours of entertaining mobile gaming into prizes and rewards. All while competing against the community and sharing their success with gaming friends. 

The revenue proposition for MIGGSTER Mobile is that it will be offered as a subscription service,with users paying US$8.50 per month. From a consumer perspective, subscribers can enter into tournaments involving their favourite mobile social games, using their leisure time to earn rewards, win prizes and participate in a minimum aggregate prize pool of US$500,000. 

The planned launch will invite subscribers to sign up to the MIGGSTER Mobile platform on tiered subscription packages. These include bi-annual packages of US$51.00 and discounted annual packages. 

Why the Emerge Gaming share price is up today

The company recorded 3 million user pre-registrations on 19 October 2020. Today, the company added a further 3 million user pre-registrations. The strong user interest and continuing strong momentum is likely to be the catalyst for the Emerge Gaming share price jump today.

MIGGSTER is currently promoted to a network of more than 14 million affiliate members across 150 countries. Its promotion is creating much needed awareness and interest for a highly anticipated MIGGSTER Mobile product launch in November 2020. 

The post Why the Emerge Gaming Ltd (ASX:EM1) share price jumped 12% today appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

Looking at the data, I think it is fair to say that speculative stocks were in demand with investors (or more likely, traders) last week.

Here's the data:

Douugh Ltd (ASX: DOU)

For a second week in a row, this neobank was the most traded share on the CommSec platform. Douugh's shares accounted for 3.5% of trades during the five days, with buyers behind 58% of them. Unfortunately, for those buyers, the Douugh share price was out of form and tumbled 16% lower over the week. Though, it is worth noting that it was a very strong performer a week earlier.

Zip Co Ltd (ASX: Z1P)

Zip shares were popular with investors again last week. They contributed a total of 3.1% of trades on the CommSec platform, with approximately 72% of trades coming from buyers. The announcement of the launch of the Tap & Zip product appears to have caught the eye of investors. Unfortunately, this was offset by news that Westpac Banking Corp (ASX: WBC) would be selling off its stake in Zip. The Zip share price lost 4% of its value last week.

Ioupay Ltd (ASX: IOU)

Speculators were fighting to get hold of this fintech company's shares last week. This led to them accounting for 2.7% of trades on the CommSec platform. Over the five days, the Ioupay share price rocketed 70% higher on no news. Approximately 59% of trades were from buyers.

BrainChip Holdings Ltd (ASX: BRN)

This artificial intelligence services company was back in the top five last week, accounting for a total of 1.8% of trades on the platform. Although almost two-thirds of these trades were from the buy-side, it couldn't stop its shares falling 1.3% over the five days. Last week BrainChip released a reasonably underwhelming quarterly update.

Emerge Gaming Ltd (ASX: EM1)

This eSports company's shares were popular with investors last week after the release of an update on pre-registrations for its MIGGSTER mobile platform. That update revealed that total pre-registrations have now reached 3 million. This news sent the Emerge Gaming share price hurtling 150% higher for the week. Buyers accounted for 61% of trades.

The post Douugh and Ioupay were among the most traded shares on the ASX last week appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

What's moving the Emerge share price?

The company's 'Miggster' mobile gaming and eSports platform is due for release in 15 countries in November. This product builds on the company's existing tournament platform technology with an increased focus on community competition. Moreover, the platform will provide reward pools worth approximately US$500,000 (around A$700,000).

Last Monday, the company revealed it had achieved 3 million pre-registrations for the platform within one week. Furthermore, each subscription starts at US$8.50 per month providing much needed cash flow for the fledgling technology platform. However, the company will receive only 64.5% due to its go-to-market strategy.

Emerge already operates an online eSports platform it launched with South African company, MTN. In addition, the company has already achieved 25,000 subscribers of which Emerge pockets 40% of fees. MTN pays for marketing and cash prizes. 

The go-to-market plan

Possibly the key point in last week's movement of the Emerge share price was its go-to-market strategy. The company has entered into an affiliate marketing agreement with Impact Crowd Technology, a company seeking to mobilise a community salesforce. The current number of pre-registrations, 3 million, make it increasingly likely the Miggster platform will achieve the 100,000 subscriber guarantee in the agreement. 

At 100,000 subscribers, Emerge will generate gross revenues of $850,000 per month. Accounting for the 64.5% of revenues as per the agreement, this translates to $548,000.

Johan Staël von Holstein, CEO of Impact Crowd Technology parent company Tecnología de Impacto Multiple S.L. (TIM), commented:

I truly believe that online gaming on mobile devices will be a great success for everyone involved. And we could not have asked for a better business partner than Emerge Gaming in this promising joint venture. We have the most ambitious and fastest growing sales force in the world while Emerge Gaming delivers outstanding technology solutions and content.

Gregory Stevens, CEO of Emerge Gaming, commented:

The ability of Emerge to market its eSports and Gaming products through an established and successful affiliate sales network delivers rapid growth and scale whilst targeting a key strategic growth market of high lifetime value users. We are excited to be partnering with TIM, leveraging their 10 million affiliate member network as both users and advocates to market our tournament platform technology and support our objective of building the world's biggest gaming community.

Foolish takeaway

The rapid growth in the Emerge share price underscores the effectiveness of affiliate marketing for this product. Within the first 68 hours, the company had over 1 million pre-registrations, leading to 3 million within the first week. A second takeaway for this product is the introduction of community level cash prizes. Moreover, the company points out that the addressable market is US$90 billion in mobile gaming revenue. 

With the product launch due in November, and the affiliate marketing approach still in full swing, it will be very interesting to see the percentage of registrations the company is able to convert to paying subscriptions.

The post Emerge Gaming (ASX:EM1) share price sees explosive growth appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.