Q1 Preview: Analysts Like Pandora's (P) Monetization Efforts, But Will Investors?

Pandora (NYSE: P) shares are trading sharply higher amid an 80 point decline in the Dow Wednesday afternoon as investors prepare for the company's first-quarter 2013 earnings report. Results should be out just several minutes after the market close this afternoon.

Wall Street analysts expect Pandora to post a quarterly loss of 18 cents per share on sales of $74.34 million. The company's first-quarter 2012 loss totaled 2 cents per share, on sales of $47.64 million.

The stock currently has 14 analyst firms recommending to buy the stock ahead of results, eight suggesting to hold, and four suggesting to sell.

Pandora shares have surged about 21 percent over the last month, but are down about 20 percent since the end of February. On a year-to-date basis, the stock is relatively flat.

Analyst Commentary:

• JPMorgan - Likes the stock amid audience metrics which should be well above estimates and continued market share gains. The firm said it will be looking for indications of further improvements in mobile monetization "as the regional sales force expands and audience measurement comparable with radio materializes..."
  
  JPMorgan is modeling for first-quarter sales of $73.8 million and EIBTDA of ($27.2) million. Maintains Overweight.
  
  
• Wedbush - Said the company is "well-positioned to benefit from the growth of the mobile advertising market due to its popularity on mobile devices." Also cited important improvements in cost controls over the quarter. Wedbush said "management is correct in focusing on more meaningful earnings growth long-term. However, investors will lose patience if Pandora does not grow advertising revenue signicantly in FY:13, and we expect Pandora's share price to stagnate until investors see sequential advertising revenue growth."
  
  Sees a quarterly loss of 18 cents per share on sales of $75 million. Maintains Outperform rating.
  
  
• Barrington - "We continue to believe that the current mobile RPM rates should move higher as the mobile ad space becomes a more accepted alternative for advertisers." Somewhat separately, Barrington said, "Revenue and operating metrics remain a greater priority than bottom-line targets. The challenge is that while it is necessary to drive user base and listening hours higher, it is equally important to increase pricing significantly."
  
  Sees a loss of 19 cents per share on sales of $74.3 million. Maintains Outperform.

Find details of Pandora's quarterly conference call here. Stay tuned to our Earnings category to get the first-quarter results immediately upon release.

---

Serious News for Serious Traders! Try StreetInsider.com Premium Free!

---

You May Also Be Interested In

• Walmart (WMT) PT Lowered to $130 at UBS on Investment Narrative's Competing Dynamics
• S&P 500 may pull back before midterms, but Citi says buy the dip
• Bernstein SocGen on Meta Platforms Inc. (META): 'Risk-reward remains attractive'