Hasbro shares soar as CEO cites great demand for toys, notes China supply chain coming back

Hasbro stock was soaring Monday morning after CEO Brian Goldner told CNBC that the company was experiencing strong demand during the coronavirus pandemic. 

“Overall we are seeing great demand in our products,” Goldner said on “Squawk Box.” “In fact, our supply chains are back up and running in China,” he added. 

Shares of Hasbro were up more than 12% on Monday to around $51 each.

The stock was trading around $105 in early February but fell dramatically as investors responded to growing uncertainty around the economic consequences of the coronavirus.

Even with Monday’s bounce, Hasbro is down around 50% from its early February levels. The stock hit a 52-week high of $126.87 in July. 

The broader market is lower Monday as Wall Street waits on fiscal stimulus legislation from lawmakers in Washington. 

In late February, Hasbro warned investors in a regulatory filing that the COVID-19 outbreak in China could cause “significant negative impact on our revenues, profitability and business.” 

“Our first quarter has been quite good,” Goldner told CNBC on Monday. “We may miss some shipments as we’re catching up, as production is catching up. We believe that by April our production will be fully caught up.” 

But the situation around the coronavirus remains fluid, Goldner stressed, “as certain markets are closing while others are still open and robust.” 

For example, Hasbro employees in Hong Kong are back working remotely after a recent surge in cases in the semi-autonomous region, Goldner said. 

Goldner said demand for Hasbro’s games, such as Monopoly and Operation, and Play-Doh have been particularly strong. He said the company is also planning new products in response to the widespread “stay-at-home” directives being issued across the country. 

“This week we’ll launch a program called ‘Bring Home the Fun,’ trying to give parents and caregivers the resources they need to keep kids occupied to help them get educated and keep creativity going on,” he said.