Zynga stocks jump on Mattrick defection

Stocks have soared by ten percent at Zynga following the news that former Xbox box Don Mattrick would be replacing company founder Mark Pincus as CEO.

The surprising defection of one of the industry’s biggest names for a troubled company like Zynga has many commentators and analysts puzzled, but investors have received the news with open arms.

The news broke shortly after lunch in the US, at which point Zynga share prices jumped from $2.82 to $3.12 within an hour.

The price at close was $3.07, up 29 cents after a previous closing price of $2.78.

After hours trading has seen stocks up another 18 cents to $3.25 – another five percent jump.

Microsoft took corresponding but smaller losses during the day, but after hours trading is up 25 cents from close to $34.61, which suggests the market has decided the news isn’t quite as bad for the Xbox as it is good for Zynga.

Microsoft has yet to decide on a successor to Mattrick’s post.