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This morning in a Warner Center hotel conference room, investors in video game maker THQ Inc. will gather to query Chief Executive Brian Farrel about his vision for the company's future.
Until late last week, it was shaping up to be a rough and tumble session. THQ shares have languished recently in the low 20s - down from a 1998 high of 32.43 - and topping most investors' list of questions was what Farrel planned to do to boost their value.
Forget that the maker of software for the Sony PlayStation, Nintendo 64 and other game consoles has seen a steady rise in revenues and earnings under Farrel's tutelage. Or that the shares, while arguably undervalued, have risen from less than $2 apiece three years ago to a current 6-month average of $23.35, a better-than-1,000 percent gain.
THQ shareholders have seen competing games companies trade at multiples of earnings far greater than their issue, and those who bought stock in the Calabasas-based firm in recent months probably have lost money on their investment.
"It's a powerful company but they've got to pay more attention to their shareholders," investor Bill...