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Mason’s incapacity leads to decapitation from Groupon – GRPN & GOOG

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Northern, WI 03/01/2013 (usmarketbuzz) – Just a day after reporting its results that had left investors and shareholders disappointed Chief Executive officer Andrew Mason was ousted from Groupon Inc (NASDAQ:GRPN). The daily coupons that the company primarily deals in had seen a huge dip in demand after the holiday season.  Eric Lefkofsky the Executive Chairman in conjunction with Ted Leonsis the Vice Chairman will oversee the company operations till the time Groupon appoints a new CEO. A person who wished to stay unidentified said an outside firm will be hired to recruit a new CEO and that no existing board member will fill up the post.

Seriousness on a lighter note

Despite his ouster, Mason continued to maintain his trademark sense of humor and said in a public letter that that those who are wondering why he was shown the door have not been paying attention. Digital coupons slowed down as fast as they had boomed and Mason’s tenure spanned it all. He was at the Groupon Inc (NASDAQ:GRPN) helm when the company topped the market with its daily offers and discounts for various products and services. He had also dismissed the buyout offer from Google Inc (NASDAQ:GOOG) in 2010. The following year, Groupon Inc (NASDAQ:GRPN) had marked up a market capitalization worth $16.7 billion just a day after it turned into being a public company.

Reaching Breakpoint

Masons tenure also saw Groupon Inc (NASDAQ:GRPN) tripping over plunging shares, accounting missteps and an inability to tackle a dropping demand and increasing competition. There was a large amount of pressure for him to leave but had been given a few more quarters to prove his mettle. Shares had plunged by a shocking 24 percent and that was the last straw. Shares upped 13 percent after the Mason ouster announcement. He was the co-founder of Groupon Inc (NASDAQ:GRPN) along with Bradley Keywell and Lefkofsky. Mason’s stake of $212.6 dropped drastically to $938.7 million which was its value at Initial Public Offering. Mason had been fighting a losing battle with trying to focus on retailing products on the internet as the demand for online discounts and offers was fading.

Mason assumes accountability

Mason assumed responsibility for every one of Groupon Inc (NASDAQ:GRPN)’s shortfalls. He wrote in a letter that the company’s material weakness, the controversial metrics in the S1, falling below their own expectations in addition to the stock price that has been suspended at one quarter of the company’s listed price, all speak for themselves and that as a CEO he assumes accountability for them all. For a person who had very little prior experience in business and came from a music background Mason turned the Groupon Inc (NASDAQ:GRPN) culture around and made the company a fun place to work in. A prominent analyst said that he as well as many others had felt that Groupon Inc (NASDAQ:GRPN) would give Mason some more time but that the latest news had been pretty bad. And so, Mason leaves the Groupon ranks on a serious yet lighter vein.

Shares of Groupon Inc (NASDAQ:GRPN) went down by 24.28% to close at $4.53

Shares of Google Inc (NASDAQ:GOOG) went up by 0.18% to close at $801.20

Business

Top 3 Gainers: Zynga (NASDAQ:ZNGA), Eros International (NYSE:EROS), Borqs Technologies’ (BRQS)

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Zynga (NASDAQ:ZNGA) is up 2.5% after Benchmark reiterated its Buy rating in a look-ahead at Q2 earnings. The firm’s expecting a beat and solid guidance for Q3, and it’s raising its guidance for the fiscal year.

Tailwinds from the pandemic won’t dissipate easily, Benchmark suggests, and the videogame maker’s acquisition of Peak (and with it new “forever franchises” in Toon Blast and Toy Blast) will drive audience, bookings, margins and free cash flow, it says. The firm has an $11 price target, now implying 14% upside.

Eros International (NYSE:EROS) is up 5.8% today, making up the last week’s lost ground, after news that its streaming service Eros Now is partnering with Sony India (SNE +2.3%).

That will mean Eros Now’s app is pre-installed on selected Sony smart televisions in India, along with availability on a large base of existing models (Bravia E series and newer).

The country over the past year has seen a 25% growth in demand for smart TVs, fueled by overall industry growth of 15%, to a record 15M units/year.

Borqs Technologies’ (BRQS) personal safety tracker sees strong market with increased orders from the electronics retail chain in the US.

The boost in product demand comes ahead coronavirus pandemic that provides company to expect delivery of 250K units this year. It reflects over 3x the volume delivered in 2019, the year of its launch.

Borqs’ mobile personal safety devices designed particularly for senior citizens come with panic button, location tracking, and fall detection.

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Biotech

Biotech movers: Pfizer Inc. (PFE), Celgene Corporation (CELG)

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Pfizer Inc. (PFE) said on Thursday it received a request for documents as part of a U.S. investigation related to quality issues involving the manufacture of auto-injectors at its Meridian Medical Technologies site.

Pfizer, in a regulatory filing, said it would be producing records in response to the civil investigative demand from the U.S. Attorney’s office for the Southern District of New York.

Why ASDN Could Massively Outperform PFE in 2019

Meridian, a unit of Pfizer that manufactures EpiPen injectors used to deliver an emergency allergy antidote, has been hit by a series of manufacturing problems in recent years. Mylan NV, which markets EpiPens, has recalled tens of thousands of the devices after complaints that some had failed to activate.

Bristol-Myers Squibb has been meeting with shareholders in Boston and New York over the last two weeks to try to salvage its $74 billion purchase of cancer drugmaker Celgene Corporation (CELG), the biggest acquisition announced so far this year.

Why Investors Are Calling ASDN the CELG of the Sky!

The deal, announced in January, was hard sell to Bristol shareholders from the start. The acquisition adds about $32 billion in fresh debt to Bristol’s balance sheet while assuming $20 billion in Celgene’s debt, the companies said at the time. After factoring in debt, the acquisition was the largest health-care deal on record, according to data compiled by Refinitiv.

Now, hedge funds Wellington Management and Starboard Value say the deal doesn’t sit well with them. Bristol has sent executives to New York to meet with institutional investors several times over the last two weeks and met with investors in Boston on Wednesday and Thursday, according to a person who briefed on the meetings.

Bristol-Myers declined to comment.

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Biotech

Big Losers: Corbus Pharmaceuticals Holdings, Inc. (CRBP), Petróleo Brasileiro S.A. – Petrobras (PBR)

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Corbus Pharmaceuticals Holdings, Inc. (CRBP)’s shares slumped as much as 16% to $6.94 on huge volume. The stock has been showing intense sell off suddenly after a bearish article on seekingalph.com by Alpha Exposure.

The article stated that Corbus has ties to investors convicted of or alleged to have committed securities fraud. We believe lenabasum has failed its major trials in SSc and CF. Lenabasum was also denied Breakthrough Therapy Designation in SSc. We believe lenabasum will fail in its pivotal SSc and Phase 2b CF trials. We are short Corbus with a price target of $0.50.

Wow the future of Autonomous flight is finally here with the launch of ASDN passenger drone Elroy

Petróleo Brasileiro S.A. – Petrobras (PBR) is expanding its ambitious divestment program and has “bold” plans for sales, the Brazilian state-run oil company’s chief executive said after the firm posted its first annual profit in five years.

On a conference call with analysts to discuss fourth-quarter results, CEO Roberto Castello Branco said selling non-core assets will be key to deleveraging.

Petrobras, as the company is known, can reduce its ratio of net debt to earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization, or EBITDA, to 1.5 or even to 1, he added.

The University of Chicago-educated CEO, who took the reins in early January, has long been vocal about the need to slim down the sprawling firm and focus on core activities such as exploration and production. Thursday’s comments were some of his most assertive on the matter.

Why Investors Are Calling ASDN the TPC of the Sky!

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