After investors pushed up Nintendo Co. shares with a fervor only matched by gamers chasing Pikachu, traders are now locking horns over how much the high-flying stock is worth.
Bears have boosted short interest in Nintendo to its highest in five months after the stock doubled in just over a week. The other camp includes Yasuo Sakuma of Bayview Asset Management Co., who says the rally has long-term potential as the mobile app "Pokemon Go" is rolled out to more countries and the game-maker expands its location-mapping technology to the rest of its lineup, including "Super Mario Brothers" and "The Legend of Zelda."
"The way the stock has risen is abnormal," says Sakuma, Tokyo-based chief investment officer for the $2.6 billion fund manager. "For now, the stock needs to cool down, but there isn't enough evidence to say that the ¥4 trillion in market cap for the company is too high."