Tuesday, November 13, 2012

Nutrisystem drops, VeriFone gains after hours

LOS ANGELES (MarketWatch) � Stock in Nutrisystem Inc. dropped Monday evening after the weight-loss services company�s quarterly results and outlook were below Wall Street�s expectations. Meanwhile, quarterly adjusted earnings and sales at electronic-payments technology company VeriFone Systems Inc. surpassed consensus estimates.

Nutrisystem Inc. NTRI �shares fell 7.3% to $11.01 as the company said it lost 4 cents a share in its fourth quarter. Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters had looked for a loss of 2 cents a share. Revenue fell to $66.9 million from $87.9 million a year ago. Wall Street had expected $64.4 million in sales.

Nutrisystem also forecast a first-quarter loss of 5 cents to 10 cents a share because of in-quarter, promotional strategies aimed at building demand for the full year. Wall Street has pegged earnings at 10 cents a share. Nutrisystem foresees per-share earnings of 45 cents to 55 cents a share for 2012, falling short of the consensus estimate of 92 cents a share. Nutrisystem also expects revenue growth in the mid-single digits.

Also moving lower, shares of Skullcandy Inc. SKUL �fell 7.8% to $13.68. The headphones maker said Mitch Edwards, its chief financial officer and general counsel, will resign to pursue other opportunities. Edwards will continue with the company until April 1.

Skullcandy said it and its board have launched a search for a new CFO and has hired Gent & Associates to lead the effort. Skullcandy said Edwards has indicated his willingness to remain available to consult with the company during the CFO search.

Shares of VeriFone PAY rose 0.6% to $46.81 as the company reported fiscal first-quarter adjusted earnings of 58 cents a share, higher than the 52 cents a share expected by analysts polled by FactSet Research.

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Total revenue jumped 48% to $419.5 million from the year-ago period, above the $417.8 million expected by Wall Street.

VeriFone swung to a net loss of $3.1 million, or 3 cents a share. A year ago, it made $32 million, or 35 cents a share.

VeriFone also forecast second-quarter adjusted revenue of $465 million to $470 million, and adjusted earnings of 59 cents to 60 cents a share. For the full year, the company pegged adjusted revenue at $1.9 billion to $1.925 billion, and adjusted per-share earnings of $2.60 to $2.66.

Analysts currently expect second-quarter adjusted revenue of $468.6 million and earnings of 60 cents a share. For the year, they�re looking for $1.91 billion on $2.59 a share.

VeriFone shares ended the regular session down 2.4%. They are off 6.7% over a 12-month period, but have risen 31% since the start of this year.

During the day, U.S. stocks fell, weighed by concerns about a February gauge of the country�s services sector, by China�s lowered growth target for the year, and by contraction in euro-zone business activity. Read about U.S. stocks in Market Snapshot.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average DJIA �fell 0.1% to 12,962.81. The S&P 500 Index SPX �lost 0.4% to 1,364.33 and the Nasdaq Composite COMP �fell 0.9% to 2,950.48.

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