Although we don't believe in timing the market or panicking over market movements, we do like to keep an eye on big changes -- just in case they're material to our investing thesis.
What: Shares of NQ Mobile (NYSE: NQ) rose by as much as 29% early Friday after the company raised its first-quarter guidance, provided initial second-quarter guidance, and announced the sale of a minority stake in its wholly owned subsidiary, FL Mobile.
So what: Citing "continued strength in its businesses, in particular in the enterprise segment," NQ mobile said it now expects revenue for its first quarter, which ended on March 31, to come in above its previously announced guidance of $75 million to $76 million. Analysts, on average, were looking for first-quarter sales of $75.3 million. NQ Mobile also stated in a press release that its unaudited first-quarter results "will be released as soon as practicable."
In addition, NQ Mobile sees second-quarter revenue between $83 million and $84 million, compared to analysts' expectation for $78.9 million.
Finally, NQ announced it has agreed to sell up to 5.88% of gaming subsidiary FL Mobile for as much as $25 million -- $15 million from China-based Bison Capital and another $10 million "from other investors." That values FL Mobile alone at $425 million, or more than NQ Mobile's entire $385 million market capitalization as of this writing.
NQ Mobile co-founder and co-CEO Henry Lin stated in the press release: "We remain excited about our trajectory and opportunities to continue to grow our business in 2014. Our employees have done a remarkable job staying focused and delivering results during a period of distractions."
Now what: Distractions indeed. Remember, before today's pop NQ Mobile shares were still reeling after the company twice delayed filling its annual report on Form 20-F. Those delays have worried investors as the company awaits the results of its independent auditor's investigation, which itself was spurred by allegations of fraud from noted short-seller Muddy Waters. Notably, today's announcements still contained no mention of the status of NQ's annual report. For now, that's why I have no problem continuing to observe this one from the sidelines.
