Business

Lazard downgrades New York Times

New York Times shares fell yesterday the most in almost three months after Lazard Capital cut its recommendation for the stock to sell from neutral.

The stock dropped 6.1 percent to $8.33 at the close, the biggest one-day decline since Nov. 7. Shares of the company had climbed 10 percent last year.

New York Times Co. is expected to continue its streak of shrinking annual sales this week when it delivers earnings results.

The company has been trying to combat an industrywide decline in newspaper advertising by getting online readers to pay up for digital subscriptions.

The company cut about 30 newsroom jobs last month out of a total of 1,150 because of declines in ads. The business side of operations has already been reduced by more than 60 percent in the past few years.

“These are financially challenging times,” Chairman Arthur Sulzberger said in a December memo to employees. “The advertising climate remains volatile and we don’t see this changing in the near future.”