LinkedIn Corp. share price down, posts second-quarter forecast below analysts’ estimates

LinkedIn Corp. made an official statement, saying that it expects its revenue for the second quarter to be between 500 and 505 million dollars, which is lower than the analysts’ estimates of 505.5 million dollars.

As reported by the Financial Times, the Chief Executive Officer of the company – Mr. Jeff Weiner commented on LinkedIn’s results, saying: “We made significant progress against several strategic priorities including expanding internationally with our China launch, extending our shift to content marketing, and furthering our goal to make LinkedIn the definitive professional publishing platform by giving members the ability to publish long-form content.”

LinkedIn Corp. also shared its first-quarter revenue results, saying that it increased by 46% to 473.2 million dollars. The company also announced a net loss that amounted to 13.4 million dollars in comparison to the 22.6-million-dollar net income posted for the same period in 2013. The weak performance over the first three months of the year was attributed to expenses linked to employees’ stock compensations, amortization costs and deals.

The company also announced that it reached a 7% user growth from 277 to 296 million customers. However, LinkedIn did not reveal how much time is spent on its social network for professionals’ service. It reported that about 43% of its traffic is generated from mobile devices log-ins, up from 41% in the preceding three months.

As reported by Bloomberg, the forecast of the company for the second quarter was commented by one of the analysts working for BGC Partners – Mr. Colin Gillis: “Growth is slowing down, but it’s slowing down because they’re so big now. Historically they almost always exceed the high-end of their guidance range. Investors who want to own LinkedIn have to make sure they have the stomach for the volatility that comes with this stock.”

LinkedIn Corp. jumped 5.05% to close at 161.22 dollars per share yesterday in New York, marking a one-year change of -17.25%. Shares however slid as much as 6.3% in after-hours trading following the release of the report. The company is valued at $19.62 billion. According to CNN Money, the 33 analysts offering 12-month price forecasts for LinkedIn Corp have a median target of $250.00, with a high estimate of $300.00 and a low estimate of $185.00. The median estimate represents a +55.07% increase from the last price of $161.22.