Pandora stock rallies after CFO speaks of growth opportunities in video ads, podcasts
Shares of Pandora Media Inc. are up 1.9% in Tuesday trading after its CFO, Naveen Chopra, spoke at a Deutsche Bank investor conference. Chopra spoke of the company's December decision to launch Premium Access, a feature that lets users of Pandora's free, ad-supported radio product unlock a temporary on-demand listening session in exchange for watching a video ad. Pandora is selling "virtually all the inventory that we have in video," Chopra said, and Premium Access is helping Pandora up-sell free users to paid subscriptions. That said, Chopra said he believes that audio is "the place to be" given increased interest in smart speakers for which "news flash, display advertising, search advertising, social advertising and video don't work very well." Pandora also sees growth opportunities in podcasts. Naveen is part of the streaming pioneer's new leadership team, which was brought toward the end of last year after Sirius XM Holdings made a strategic investment in the company. Pandora shares are down 62% over the past 12 months, while the S&P 500 is up 14%.
Market Pulse Stories are Rapid-fire, short news bursts on stocks and markets as they move. Visit MarketWatch.com for more information on this news.