RealD Shares Hit New Lows On Disappointing August 3D Ticket Sales

UPDATE, 1:15 PM: RealD shares closed -8.9% at $6.89, a new all-time low.

PREVIOUS, 12:10 PM: The 3D services and technology company is still in Wall Street’s dog house: Its stock is off more than 8% in mid-afternoon trading — and touched a new all-time low of $6.91 — after it reported that moviegoers spent about $165M last month at theaters it serves, with 40% from domestic screens. That’s short of the $173M that Stifel analyst Benjamin Mogil predicted. It also disappointed B. Riley’s Eric Wold, who expected $200M after he upped his stock recommendation to “buy” last month. The problem, he says, is that “overseas consumers are clearly mimicking the increased choosiness for the 3D format that we began to see with the domestic market back in May.” He just lowered his financial estimates for RealD. But he’s sticking by his stock rating. The current price “more than reflects recent weaker-than-expected 3D demand trends,” he says. It will take a while before investors will be able to see improvement. There are only two major 3D releases this month: Sony’s Battle Of The Year and Cloudy With A Chance Of Meatballs 2. The big tests will come later with Warner Bros’ Gravity and The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug, and Disney’s Thor: The Dark World. RealD’s shares have lost about 54.6% of their value since June 11 as Wall Streeters became nervous about the prospects for 3D, and how much the company might have to spend to grow.