Blog > US Stocks and Markets > Best Toy of the Season: Hasbro’s Nerf N-Strike Vulcan EBF-25
Share this article:
  • Print
  • Digg
  • del.icio.us
  • Facebook
  • Google Bookmarks
  • NewsVine
  • StumbleUpon
  • Twitter

Best Toy of the Season: Hasbro’s Nerf N-Strike Vulcan EBF-25

Today's Financial News - Posted December 29, 2008

Judging by the foam dart content of the air over the holidays, Hasbro’s Nerf N-Strike Vulcan was the best gift since Pokemon. Will investors like it, too?

by J. Christoph Amberger

Baltimore — (TFN): If the U.S. economy was in recession, I couldn’t really tell last week. At least not at the Amberger household. Sure, the amount of holiday-generated trash was not quite what it could have been. But I ascribed that to the progressing age and (wishful thinking!) maturity of my children, not the parental readiness to spend on their Christmas presents.

Judging by the level of constant, low-grade noise that has filled our house for four days straight, the most popular gift of the season was the Nerf N-Strike Vulcan EBF-25… a tripod mounted, battery-powered machine gun that can launch three rubber-tipped foam darts per second at hapless brothers, friends, fathers or little systers peacefully reading in the living room.

Made by Hasbro, Target used this worthy successor to the Red Ryder BB-Gun to lure parents into it stores in droves, offering it for $30 a pop (extra ammo belts sold separately). For days and days, they were sold out. Meanwhile, the Hasbro online Toy Shop retails it for $42.99. Of course, it is out of stock. On eBay, you still can find it for up to $95… although actual bidding has established its fair price at $46 right now.

Despite the lowered cosnumer spending, Hasbro appears to have done alright over the holidays. “Bolstered by game titles like Little Pet Shop, Nerf N-Strike and Hasbro Game Night, EA Hasbro has sold two million units this holiday season,” the news stated today. The Nerf N-Strike came in at #10 on the Wii sales charts.

At just below $29 per share today, NYSE:HAS is not cheap… but I think the official revenues figures for December should provide a healthy if short-lived 15-20% bounce in a week or two.


Next Article: Don’t get all emotional on me

Related Articles

Posted by J. Christoph Amberger · Filed Under US Stocks and Markets 

Share this article:
  • Print
  • Digg
  • del.icio.us
  • Facebook
  • Google Bookmarks
  • NewsVine
  • StumbleUpon
  • Twitter

 Add to Technorati Favorites | Follow Us on Twitter!

Be the first to leave a reply.

Your comments are welcome