Zynga Shares Trading Higher Ahead of Fourth-Quarter Earnings

Zynga is trading higher this morning after an analyst upgraded the company’s stock to “buy.” The social games company will report fourth-quarter earnings this afternoon. The stock was up nearly 6 percent to $2.70 a share after Bank of America/Merrill Lynch said it was more optimistic about the company’s performance and investors’ increased appetite for public companies with developing businesses models. The company is expecting earnings of up to $162 million before some expenses on quarterly bookings of up to $1.1 billion.