Morgan Stanley: Dreamworks Animation Realized 'An Awesome' Return on Partial Sale Of AwesomenessTV

DreamWorks Animation Skg Inc (NASDAQ: DWA) announced on Thursday it sold a 25 percent stake in AwesomenessTV (ATV) to Hearst Corporation for $81.25 million as the two companies will partner together and create YouTube property aimed at teenagers.

Ryan Fital of Morgan Stanley commented on Friday that Dreamworks may have gotten a good deal out of the sale.

According to Fital, Hearst's 25 percent purchase of ATV values the company at $325 million, "well in excess" of Dreamworks Animation's $125 million purchase price. The analyst adds that the sale represents greater than an 80 percent annualized return since May 2013 acquisition.

Fital also notes that the partnership between Dreamworks Animation and Hearst could expand ATVs growth.

“While the core of ATV continues to grow rapidly, Dreamworks Animation also has clear ambitions to grow ATV beyond its short-form, YouTube-based content root, Fital wrote. “ATV has already announced some long-form content development (e.g. selling a Richie Rich TV series to Netflix) and Dreamworks Animation has alluded to expansion into Awesomeness-branded consumer products and music.”

Shares of Dreamworks Animation Equal-weight rated with a $27.