Editor’s Note: Related tickers: Yelp Inc (NYSE:YELP), Visa Inc (NYSE:V), LinkedIn Corp (NYSE:LNKD), Boston Beer Co Inc (NYSE:SAM), Key Energy Services, Inc. (NYSE:KEG), Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (NYSE:BRK.B), Mastercard Inc (NYSE:MA), Citigroup Inc. (NYSE:C)
Better than Expected Sales Sends Yelp to All-time Highs (TradeTheNewsRoom)
Yelp Inc (NYSE:YELP) shares are hitting all time highs today as investors react to better than expected sales in the first quarter. Yelp is still losing money, but met expectations of a $0.06 per share loss compared to a $0.31 per share loss a year ago. While still not profitable, investors were impressed with better than expected sales of $46.1 million. This beat estimates of $44.6 million and was a 68% increase. Year over year sales continue to show growth over the past five quarters. Average monthly users increased in the first quarter as well with a 42% jump to nearly 40 million. More local businesses are “claiming” their pages as well with 45,000 local businesses now controlling the content on their respective pages. In the past, Yelp Inc (NYSE:YELP) would handle the content, but now businesses have more control and can put more content on their pages.
Why Yelp Shares Leaped (Fool)
What: Shares of consumer-review website Yelp Inc (NYSE:YELP) soared 24% today after the company’s quarterly results and guidance topped Wall Street expectations. So what: Yelp’s first-quarter loss of $4.8 million was a bit wider than expected, but a beat on the top line — revenue surged 68% to $46.1 million — coupled with upbeat guidance for the rest of the year reinforces optimism about its growth prospects going forward. While the company remains in the red, analysts seem confident that Yelp Inc (NYSE:YELP)’s booming mobile business — roughly 45% of Yelp Inc (NYSE:YELP) searches now originate from the mobile app — will drive big profits over time or simply be too juicy for a larger company not to gobble up.
Visa Inc (NYSE:V) enjoys upbeat quarter, MasterCard lags (ChicagoTribune)
Visa Inc (NYSE:V), the world’s largest credit and debit card network reported strong quarterly results as its customers spent more on its cards, but smaller rival Mastercard Inc (NYSE:MA) reported a tougher quarter and warned of a difficult outlook. Visa Inc (NYSE:V) reported rising growth in the key U.S. market in contrast to MasterCard, which has suffered as some of its biggest issuers, including Citigroup Inc. (NYSE:C), struggle. Visa Inc (NYSE:V) stock rose 2.2 percent in after-hours trading while shares in Mastercard Inc (NYSE:MA), which reported earlier in the day, closed down 2.4 percent on the New York Stock Exchange. Both reported purchase volume increases of 9-10 percent from a year earlier, after adjustment for currency fluctuations, but Mastercard Inc (NYSE:MA) said its growth was slowing in the United States, the biggest market.
LinkedIn seen posting sales, profit jump (MarketWatch)
The professional social network is also expected to expand its user base, but the key focus will be on its steadily growing revenue from its hiring services businesses. LinkedIn Corp (NYSE:LNKD) +2.44% is scheduled to report first-quarter results after the closing bell on Thursday. Analysts polled by FactSet on average were expecting the professional social network to report a profit of 30 cents a share, on revenue of $317.7 million. For the year-earlier period, the company reported a profit of 15 cents a share, on revenue of $188.5 million. “We note that over the past six quarters LinkedIn Corp (NYSE:LNKD)’s reported results have exceeded the high end of revenue guidance by an average of $15 million,” Raymond James analyst Aaron Kessler wrote in a note on Wednesday.
Boston Beer buzz kill: Shares down 11% (CNN)
It’s the morning after for America’s biggest micro brewer. Shares of the Boston Beer Co Inc (NYSE:SAM), maker of Samuel Adams and other craft beers, plunged nearly 11% Thursday. The hangover comes a day after Boston Beer Co Inc (NYSE:SAM) reported earnings that badly missed analysts’ expectations. Boston Beer Co Inc (NYSE:SAM) earned 51 cents per share in the first three months of 2013, down almost 9% from a year earlier and well below the 62 cents a share expected by analysts. Despite the drop in earnings, revenue rose 20% in the quarter as demand for cider and hard iced tea offset weakness in demand for the company’s flagship Sam Adams beer. Boston Beer Co Inc (NYSE:SAM) blamed the drop in earnings on increased spending on advertising and marketing, as well as higher costs for certain raw materials.
Key Energy Price Target Cut to $6.00 (KEG) (DailyPolitical)
Key Energy Services, Inc. (NYSE:KEG) had its price target decreased by Wunderlich from $9.00 to $6.00 in a research report sent to investors on Tuesday morning, Analyst Ratings.Net reports. The firm currently has a hold rating on the stock. Key Energy Services, Inc. (NYSE:KEG) opened at 5.61 on Tuesday. Key Energy has a 52-week low of $5.70 and a 52-week high of $14.26. The stock’s 50-day moving average is currently $7.75. The company has a market cap of $852.5 million and a price-to-earnings ratio of 243.91.Key Energy Services, Inc. (NYSE:KEG) has been the subject of a number of other recent research reports. Analysts at Barclays Capital cut their price target on shares of Key Energy Services, Inc. (NYSE:KEG) from $10.00 to $8.00 in a research note to investors on Monday.
Yes, Buffett Can Still Beat the Market on Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (NYSE:BRK.B)’s Behalf! (Fool)
On the back of yesterday’s drop, U.S. stocks opened higher this morning, with the S&P 500 (SNPINDEX: ^GSPC ) and the narrower, price-weighted Dow Jones Industrial Average (INDEXDJX:.DJI) gaining 0.44% and 0.39%, respectively, at 10:10 a.m. EDT. …If I had a dollar for every comment asserting at the end of a Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (NYSE:BRK.B) article that CEO Warren Buffett has lost his touch, I’d have a small fortune myself. Those opinions are an affront to reality when there is so much evidence to the contrary — and yesterday, Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (NYSE:BRK.B) supplied even more. On Wednesday, the candy-to-bricks conglomerate announced that it had acquired the remaining 20% of Israel-headquartered International Metalworking Companies — more commonly known by the name of its largest subsidiary, Iscar — for the sum of $2.05 billion.
