PlayStation maker Sony upgraded to Buy at Goldman Sachs, new Top Pick

Sony Group (NYSE:) shares rose 2.5% in early Thursday trading in New York after Goldman Sachs upgraded to Buy and added the stock to its Conviction Buy List.

Goldman is turning more bullish on the Japanese electronics giant as it expects investor attention to turn “from the company’s hardware to its software content along with growth in its Japanese anime-related business and its full-fledged entry into live service game titles.”

Goldman analysts upgraded the stock after a minor pullback in shares, which are down 3% since FY3/23 results in April vs +8%. As a result, the analysts see “a timely entry point.”

“We raise our FY3/24-28 operating profit forecasts by 4%-13% to reflect (1) the boost from robust growth in the Japanese anime industry and meaningful expansion of the company’s anime distribution platform Crunchyroll, and (2) the full-scale entry into live service game distribution in the G&NS segment,” they concluded.