LinkedIn shares crash after company falls back into the red
Social network reports fourth quarter loss
Shares trade at three-year lows
Goldman Sachs and Macquarie cut their target prices on the stock
Updated : 15:40
Shares in LinkedIn cratered after the company told investors that it fell into the red at the end of 2015 and offered much weaker than expected financial guidance for the following year.
For the three months to December 2015, the on-line network for professionals posted a fourth quarter loss of $8.4m, equivalent to a loss of six cents per share, versus a profit of 2 cents a share in the year earlier quarter.
However, the Mountain View, California-based outfit did manage to beat on the topline, reporting a 34% jump in quarterly revenues to $861.9m (consensus: $857.6m).
Looking out to 2016, the company said adjusted profits would come in at between $3.05 to $3.20 per share on the back of between $3.6bn and $3.65bn in sales.
Analysts on Wall Street - who had projected full-year 2016 EPS and sales of $3.67 and $3.91bn - were underwhelmed.
Goldman Sachs lowered its target price on the company´s shares from $280 to $200, as did Macquarie Research (from $260 to $225).
Spending on product development rose from $150.3m to $217.3m during the latest quarter.
As of 15:36GMT shares in Linkedin were 37.75% lower to $119.87, their lowest level in almost three years, and trading on a hefty price-to-sales of 9.71.