Wednesday, December 06, 2006

NY Post On Sirius Subscriber Guidance

SHOCK STOCK: SIRIUS DROP COSTS HOWARD BIG
By PETER LAURIA, The New York Post, December 6, 2006 --

The slice of Sirius Satellite Radio owned by Howard Stern and his agent got $11 million lighter yesterday, as investors sheared nearly 8 percent off the stock on news it had cut customer-growth projections.
Citing weakness in the retail sector since the Thanksgiving holiday, Sirius trimmed its year-end subscriber forecast to between 5.9 million and 6.1 million from a previous forecast of 6.3 million. Sirius had 5.1 million subscribers as of the end of the third quarter.
Investors didn't react kindly to the news, shedding 7.7 percent, or 32 cents, off Sirius shares to close yesterday at $3.85 on volume just shy of four times its average. It was the biggest stock drop for the satellite radio company since February 2005.
Unlike rival XM Satellite Radio, which has reduced its subscriber guidance several times already this year, Sirius' announcement caught many on Wall Street flat-footed since it was the first time the company trimmed its forecast since Stern's arrival at the company in January...read more: here