Pandora stock up after reports

PANDORA’S ROLLER-COASTER RIDE CONTINUES: Pandora shares jumped 20% yesterday after the streaming service reported stronger-than-expected sales and boosted its forecast for the fiscal first quarter and full year, the N.Y. Post notes. Before the release of results after hours, the stock had been climbing on an exclusive Post report that Apple had delayed plans to start a competing music service (see 3/7 item below). Pandora rose to $14.08 in extended trading after earlier closing at $11.73. The stock, which jumped as much as 25% on the results report, pulled back a bit after the company said CEO Joe Kennedy is stepping down after nearly a decade. Pandora plans to hire a search firm to find a new front man for the company. While the move came as a surprise, Wall Street was never quite in sync with Kennedy. “Joe Kennedy’s heart is in the right place, but they’re going to need somebody with a bit more charisma to work with the public, artists and Washington,” analyst Richard Tullo opined to the Post’s Claire Atkinson. In its fiscal Q4, revenue rose 54% to $125.1 million, beating the consensus estimate of $122.8 million. Mobile revenue did even better, more than doubling to $80.3 million. Excluding certain items, Pandora also reported a wider loss of 4 cents per share, compared with a loss of 3 cents per share a year earlier. Analysts had forecast a loss of 5 cents a share. Revenue in the current quarter is expected to rise to a range of $120 million to $125 million—topping expectations for $119 million. The company forecast full-year revenue of $600 million to $620 million. “It looks like a good quarter after a challenging second half,” Tullo said. (3/8a)