WebMD Updates Shareholders on Guidance, Shares Skyrocket 19%

Shares of

have skyrocketed by 19.5 percent to $45 Monday morning after the company updated guidance. The company expects first quarter revenue to be at the high end of the previously reported range of $130-$133 million. Adjusted EBITDA for the first quarter is also expected to be slightly above the high end. Earnings per share is expected to be slightly above the high end of the previously reported range of $0.23-$0.25. The company expects to report revenue, adjusted EBITDA and net income full year 2014 in the top half of the previously reported ranges. The company anticipates revenues between $545-575 million. Traffic to WebMD Health Network reached average of 174 million unique users per month, generating 3.5 billion page views for the quarter, an increase of 32 and 26 percent respectively, from the prior year. "The update to our guidance that we are providing today reflects recent improvements in our sales activity compared to our experience in the early weeks of 2014," said David Schlanger, Chief Executive Officer of WebMD. "We are having very positive dialogue with our customers about how WebMD can help address their evolving business needs and we are continuing our investments in new product and service offerings to better serve those needs and realize future growth opportunities."