LinkedIn lost some of its luster yesterday.
The professional social network reported first quarter results that topped Wall Street’s forecasts, but issued guidance for the current quarter that disappointed investors.
Shares cratered over 10 percent or $20.40, to $182 in after-hours trading. That’s still a super-sized valuation for a company that has been up almost 90 percent in the past six months.
“It was not as big a beat as folks had been hoping for,” said analyst Ken Sena with Evercore Partners.
LinkedIn’s revenue of $324.7 million topped analyst expectations of $317.08 million. Earnings per share of 45 cents beat the consensus call of 31 cents. Revenue was up 72 percent as the company continued its strong growth.
LinkedIn’s business recruiting tools still generated the bulk of its revenue, but marketing and premium subscriptions also grew. The company counted 218 million users on its social network at the end of March.
Like its peers, such as Facebook, LinkedIn is eyeing its mobile future.
Last month, LinkedIn relaunched its app for Apple and Android smartphones and added a product that keeps mobile address books current.
LinkedIn has been a standout stock compared to a number of tech companies that have gone public in the past two years, rising 116 percent from its first day of trading in May 2011.
It trades at an “intimidating” valuation, according to Sena, with a market cap of over $20 billion and a more than 1,000 times price to earnings ratio.
“Well above any name in our Consumer Internet coverage universe,” he said.
LinkedIn’s forecast for the current quarter, up to $347 million in revenue and 50 percent year-over-year growth, was well below analysts’ forecasts of $360 million.