Why Pandora Shares Are Crashing
Pandora Media Inc. (NYSE: P) reported better than expected third-quarter financial results after the markets closed on Thursday.
When Pandora Media Inc. (NYSE: P) reported its third-quarter financial results after the markets closed on Thursday, the company said that it had a net loss of $0.06 per share on $378.6 million in revenues. That compared with consensus estimates of a net loss of $0.08 per share and $380.57 million in revenue. The same period of last year reportedly had a net loss of $0.07 per share and revenue of $351.9 million.
During the third quarter, advertising revenue increased 1% year over year to $275.7 million.
Total paid subscribers increased to 5.19 million from 4.01 million in the same period last year, growing approximately 29% year over year. Subscription and other revenue was $84.4 million, a 50% year-over-year increase. Additionally in October, Pandora Premium surpassed 1 million paid subscribers.
Total listener hours were 5.15 billion for the third quarter of 2017, compared to 5.40 billion for the same period of the prior year. Active listeners were 73.7 million at the end of the third quarter of 2017. The active listener number excludes approximately 1.1 million active listeners from Australia and New Zealand.
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Looking ahead to the fourth quarter, analysts are forecasting $0.01 in earnings per share and $412.9 million in revenue.
Roger Lynch, president and CEO of Pandora, commented:
After just a short time here at Pandora, it’s clear to me we have a tremendous opportunity to meet the full spectrum of our listeners’ and advertisers’ needs. We have significant scale, distribution and products that deliver a superior listening experience. We will leverage these strengths to become a more integral part of our listeners’ lives and reinforce our position as the definitive source for audio advertising.
Shares of Pandora closed Thursday at $7.41, with a consensus analyst price target of $11.00 and a 52-week range of $6.76 to $14.10. Following the announcement, the stock was down about 20.5% at $5.88 in early trading indications Friday.
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Chris Lange is a financial and geopolitical writer with more than a decade of experience covering a myriad of topics. He has published thousands of articles for 24/7 Wall St., with past coverage focused heavily on stocks, IPOs, healthcare, defense, global affairs, and technology.
His work has been quoted, or referenced by a number of outlets including Business Insider, USA Today, Yahoo Finance, MSN, The Motley Fool, and many other publications. A graduate of Southwestern University, he studied business with a focus on investments and has previous experience in banking and startups.
When not reading or writing the news, he is following his passion for Lacrosse, playing chess, or building solar projects with his dad.
