Toy maker Spin Master’s (TSE:TOY) control of the Paw Patrol brand will prove helpful this holiday shopping season, as one of the playsets from the franchise landed a slot on Walmart’s (WMT) “Top Toy” list for Christmas 2024. Kinetic Sand also landed a slot, along with Hatchimals and the Rubik’s Cube, all Spin Master properties. Unfortunately, investors did not feel the same way, and Spin Master shares are down fractionally in Tuesday morning’s trading despite the win at Walmart.
Naturally, those were not all the toys on Walmart’s list, but with 66 total toys making the cut, having four of them is a significant achievement. Spin Master effectively controls about 6% of the list by itself. It’s also worth noting that Spin Master had no shortage of competitors either, as the whole list includes everything from Lego playsets to several Walmart exclusives. And amazingly enough, someone finally made a toy version of the “fart blaster” from Despicable Me.
Getting Green Credibility as Well
Naturally, toy companies—with a heavy reliance on plastic—come particularly under fire by environmentalists, who believe that said companies are selling out the planet for children’s playthings that will be forgotten as soon as the next new and shiny thing comes around.
That is where Spin Master’s recent connection with The Nature Conservancy comes into play. The new pairing allows The Nature Conservancy to “…leverage sensory play and youth education to inspire the next generation of conservationists and raise awareness of TNC’s 2030 goal of protecting nearly 10 billion acres of ocean around the world.” That is a move that should make Spin Master just a little less of a target for environmentalist ire.
Is Spin Master a Good Stock to Buy?
Turning to Wall Street, analysts have a Strong Buy consensus rating on TSE:TOY stock based on seven Buys assigned in the past three months, as indicated by the graphic below. After a 14.19% loss in its share price over the past year, the average TSE:TOY price target of C$41.43 per share implies 38.19% upside potential.
