New Data Suggests Pandora's April Listeners Grew 6.2% YoY

Triton data for April is solid for Pandora Media Inc P, Canaccord Genuity’s Michael Graham said in a report. “Most indications are that Pandora continues to hold its own competitively, considering its already large listener base and somewhat limited product offering currently,” the analyst wrote, while maintaining a Buy rating and $14 price target for the company.

Listener Hours

Triton data suggests Pandora listener hours improved in April. Since these metrics are released two months later, so there could be one more monthly estimate before Pandora reports its Q2 results, analyst Michael Graham mentioned.

Listener hour growth accelerated from 5.4 percent in March to 6.2 percent y/y in April, broadly in-line with the 6.4 percent growth in Q1.

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2Q Could Be Solid

Even if growth were to moderate in May and June, listener hours for Q2 should be in-line with the estimate, Graham commented. He estimated listener hours to grow 3.7 percent in Q2, representing a decline from 4.2 percent in Q1. “Triton data suggests a similar minor slowdown so far in the quarter.”

TV Ads To Help

Pandora's growth may be boosted in May by the significant ramp in TV advertising during the month. “With its new creative (and new broad listening "experience" message), Pandora out-advertised its two closest peers for much of Q2,” the analyst added.