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Go.com jumps on 3Q results, upgrade

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Go.com shares rallied up 1 1/8, or 11 percent, to 11 3/4 Thursday, one day after it posted a smaller-than-expected loss in its third quarter.

In the quarter, it lost $52.6 million, or 34 cents a share, on sales of $86.3 million. It also announced it will change its name to Walt Disney Internet Group.

First Call Corp. consensus expected the Internet portal to lose 45 cents a share in the quarter.

Also, Goldman Sachs on Thursday upgraded the stock from a "market outperform" rating to its "recommended list."

The $86.3 million in sales marks a 10 percent improvement from the year-ago quarter when it posted a loss of 20 cents a share, on sales of $78.2 million.

Company officials said the name change will take effect Aug. 7 and the stock will begin trading under the ticker "DIG."

Including a variety of charges, Go.com posted a net loss of $272.2 million, or $1.75 a share, compared to a net loss of $251.5 million, or $1.64 a share, in the year-ago quarter.

"We have made great strides in operating efficiencies in the third quarter and remain committed to building a leading Internet media company," said Chairman Steve Bornstein in a prepared release. "We continue to develop world-class branded-content properties."

In the quarter, Go.com's Internet sales improved 39 percent from the same period last year while media sales and commerce sales jumped 26 percent and 95 percent, respectively.

Average daily page views for the quarter improved 62 percent to 92 million, compared with 57 million in the year-ago quarter and 78 million in the second quarter.

Company officials said it exited the quarter with 25 million registered users, up 14 percent from the same period last year.

Last quarter, Go.com topped analysts' estimates when it posted a loss of $72.6 million, or 47 cents a share, on sales of $97.6 million.

Its shares raced up to an all-time high of 37 11/16 in January before sliding to a low of 9 1/4 in July.

Six of the seven analysts following the stock rate it either a "buy" or "strong buy."