PIXR Pixar (MM)

William Blair & Company Initiates Coverage of Pixar Animation Studios With Outperform Rating CHICAGO, Sept. 28 /PRNewswire/ -- William Blair & Company today announced that it initiated research coverage of Pixar Animation Studios (NASDAQ:PIXR) ($79.06), a leading digital animation studio that has created five animated movies to date totaling nearly $2.6 billion cumulatively at the box office, with an Outperform rating and company profile of Aggressive Growth. Analyst David Farina and Associate Analyst Ralph Schackart estimated that the company, whose hit movies include Toy Story, A Bug's Life, Toy Story 2, Monsters, Inc., and Finding Nemo, would earn $1.86 per share in 2004 and $1.74 per share in 2005. Pixar's next movie, The Incredibles, is scheduled for release November 5. "Pixar is building a premier brand in family entertainment with its computer-animated feature films, which have had tremendous success at the box office," Farina said. "The company is transitioning from a once niche, unproven animated motion picture producer to a cornerstone digital entertainment company. Pixar is not a traditional Hollywood studio, in our view. Rather, we believe it is more comparable to premier content providers with sophisticated procedures and processes that limit its ability to make a bad movie. Its process of story creation and film production has allowed the company to have a perfect batting average to date." "With Pixar's Disney agreement scheduled to be fulfilled by the end of 2006, the company is seeking a new distribution partner, which will double its revenues and profit potential without changing its business model," Schackart added. "With its record of successful movies, Pixar is in the driver seat of negotiating a new distribution agreement, in our view. Moreover, incremental growth opportunities include the potential to produce more than one movie per year, expansion of its international appeal, an increase in DVD sales, and the potential to own its library for sequels." William Blair & Company, L.L.C. ( http://www.williamblair.com/ ) is a Chicago-based investment firm, founded in 1935, offering investment banking, asset management, equity research, institutional and private brokerage, and private capital to individual, institutional, and issuing clients. For important disclosure information regarding the firm's rating system, valuation methods and potential conflicts of interest, please visit: http://www.williamblair.com/pages/news_story.asp?uid=725 . Additional information is available upon request. DATASOURCE: William Blair & Company, L.L.C. CONTACT: Tony Zimmer of William Blair & Company, L.L.C., +1-312-364-8611, Web site: http://www.williamblair.com/ http://www.williamblair.com/pages/news_story.asp?uid=725

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