Zynga Inc. (NASDAQ:ZNGA) enjoyed strong stock volume Apr. 10 with 32,736,116 shares changing hands as its share price closed at $4.07, down 30 cents from the previous day's close of $4.07.
The online game maker announced that it has appointed David Lee as chief financial officer and chief accounting officer effective Apr. 14. Lee will oversee accounting, corporate finance and investor relations and will report directly to Chief Executive Officer Don Mattrick. Lee succeeds CFO and CAO Mark Vranesh who will be leaving the company. Lee will be working with Vranesh over the next month to ensure a seamless transition of responsibilities.
"At the end of 2013, Mark Vranesh and I began working together on a CFO search. We viewed a lot of candidates, had a high bar and found a leader in David who will be a great addition to our team," said Zunga's CEO Mattrick. "David has a deep understanding of business management and a sharp financial acumen that will be invaluable to Zynga's long term growth and success," he added.
To Report 1Q Results Via Apr. 23 Webcast
Zynga will hold a conference call to discuss financial results for its first quarter on Wed., Apr. 23, 2014, at 2 p.m. Pacific Time (5:00 p.m. Eastern Time), following the release of its financial results after the close of market.
The live webcast of Zynga's earnings conference call can be accessed at investor.zynga.com. Following the call, a replay of the webcast will be available through the website.
Focusing On Mobile Platform
Recently, analysts covering the game maker say that Zynga's new CEO Mattrick is a stickler for pleasing existing customers and attracting new ones. One way to get more customers is to focus on developing more games for the mobile platform. If this is the case, they contend that Zynga is adopting a mobile-first strategy. In addition, industry experts say you can expect Zynga to step up its creating and introduction of new games to the marketplace this year.
Restructuring In Full Swing
While Zynga enjoyed some success in 2013 with such popular games as Zynga Poker, Farmville, and Farmville 2 still topping social-gaming charts, its quarterly revenue fell by about 30% in 2013 due to competing games. The company reported during its second quarter that it lost 39% of its active users in 2013 compared with the previous year, decreasing to 187 million.
Since then, Zynga has gone though some major restructuring, including recruiting and hiring its new CEO Don Mattrick, who served productive stints both at Microsoft Corp. (NASDAQ:MSFT) and Electronics Arts Inc. (NASDAQ:EA).
Zynga also reduced its workforce by 18% when it laid off 520 workers as part of slashing $80 million dollars from its budget. It is also developing new role-playing games, which have a longer lifespan that social games, by introducing such games as Battlezone. In addition, Zynga is making a foray into online gambling games by introducing ZyngaPlusCasino and ZyngaPlusPoker in the United Kingdom.
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Sirius XM Holding Inc.'s Stock Volume Rises As Share Value Falls
In other news, Sirius XM Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ: SIRI) stock volume soared Apr. 10, with 122,984,848 changing hands, substantially higher than its three-month average volume of 69,009,182 shares.
This surge in volume could be a result of anticipating Sirius' 2014 financial and operating results, which are going to be released on Thurs., Apr. 24, 2014.
The New York-based satellite radio company's share value has been trending downward along with the recent tech malaise. Rumors are flying that its financials will be flat and concerns about Sirius facing competition in the Satellite radio market from Apple and others has had an eroding effect on its stock value.
On Apr. 10, SIRI's share price closed at $3.10, down 4 cents from its closing price of $3.14 the previous day on volume of 66.9 million shares. Just a month about SIRI's share value was $3.47 a share.
Still, the company has come a long, long way from the time its share price crashed at 5 cents in February of 2009.
Sirius' strong recovery from its low point was evident in its fourth-quarter and full-year 2013 earnings reported on Feb. 4, 2014.
The company generated record revenue of $1.0 billion and $3.8 billion in the fourth quarter and full-year, respectively, each up 12%. Net income for the fourth quarter and full-year were $65 million and $377 million, respectively, or $0.01 and $0.06 per diluted common share, respectively.
Income from operations was $245 million and $1.0 billion in the fourth quarter and full-year 2013, respectively. Adjusted EBITDA increased 41% in the fourth quarter to a record $326 million. Full-year 2013 adjusted EBITDA was $1.17 billion, an increase of 27% from $920 million in 2012.
Potential Lawsuits Not Hurting SIRI
Despite a myriad of law-firm of Sirius XM for potential stockholder claims as a result of the satellite-radio investigations company's proposed acquisition by Liberty Media Corp., its stock price is holding its own.
On Jan. 3, 2014, Liberty Media make an offer to buy Sirius for about $10.4 billion at a rate of $3.68 per share. The deal involves creating a new class of stock called Series C, adding 0.076 per share to give the company a total market value of as much as $27 billion.
Although the pending acquisition has triggered a slew of potential stockholder lawsuits, without Liberty Media, Sirius XM might not have been here today.
That's because in 2009, Liberty Media kept Sirius XM from going bankrupt with a $530 million loan. As a result, Sirius XM has been able to build a subscriber base 25.6 million strong. It's done so with a line-up of paid-radio choices including classical, rock, alternative, country, sports and live concerts, including the extremely-popular morning man Howard Stern serving as the company's anchor. Moreover, having new cars equipped with XM receivers has also boosted the company's popularity and acceptability. However, Sirius XM still faces brutal competition from such digital radio competitors as Pandora Media Inc., AOLRadio and Apple Inc.
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Hercules Offshore To Report 1Q Results Apr. 23
Meanwhile, Houston, TX-based drilling and marine services Hercules Offshore Inc.'s (NASDAQ: HERO) stock volume continue to be high Apr. 10, with 4,224,733 shares changing hands, higher than its three-month average of 4,010,782 shares.
The company announced that it has scheduled a conference call to discuss its first quarter 2014 financial results on April 23, 2014. The call will take place at 10:00 a.m. CDT (11:00 a.m. EDT). The financial results are scheduled to be released publicly prior to market opening in the United States on that same day.
To participate in the conference call by telephone, please call one of the following telephone numbers 10 minutes prior to the scheduled start time:
· 800-884-5695 (Domestic)
· 617-786-2960 (International)
· The access or confirmation code is 29196501.
The conference call will also be broadcast live via the Internet. You may listen by accessing Hercules Offshore's website at http://www.herculesoffshore.com. You should connect to our website at least 15 minutes prior to the conference call to register, download and install any necessary audio software.
If you are unable to participate, a replay of the conference call will be available on April 23, 2014, beginning at 2:00 p.m. CDT (3:00 p.m. EDT), through April 30, 2014. The phone number for the conference call replay is 888-286-8010 (Domestic) or 617-801-6888 (International). The access code is 32983445. Additionally, the recorded conference call will be accessible through our website for 7 days after the conference call.
Full Year 2013 Results Disappointing
On Feb. 28, Hercules Offshore released its financials for the 12-month period ended Dec. 31, 2013, At that time, Hercules reported a loss from continuing operations of $26.8 million, or $0.17 per diluted share, on revenue of $858.3 million, compared to a loss from continuing operations of $121.0 million, or $0.79 per diluted share, on revenue of $618.2 million for the twelve month period ended December 31, 2012.
While it can be said that Hercules Offshore is losing a lot less money these days, the fact is it is still bleeding red.
Analysts' Consensus
Of the 9 analyst firms covering Hercules Offshore, 3 recommend a "strong buy", 5 a "hold" and 1 a "sell".
On Apr. 9, the share price of HERO closed at $4.38, down 8 cents from its previous day's share price of $4.46
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