- March 30 Afternoon: WWE's stock price was hammered after the company released the latest Network subscriber count following WrestleMania 31.
WWE presented the 1.3 million subscribers as a sign of short-term growth. WWE also presented an upward long-term trend to their eventual goal of 3.0-4.0 million Network subscribers. (Financial executive George Barrios said during Monday's Network conference call that WWE is not releasing a timeframe for reaching that goal.)
Investors reacted unfavorably to the report, as the stock price dropped 16 percent in one hour. Of the potential reasons for the sell-off, two reasons are (1) investors viewed the subscriber count as below-expectations for the second WrestleMania on the Network. And/or (2) investors decided to sell now and potentially buy again later believing WWE business has peaked in the short-term until they see more substantial Network information. (WWE is expected to report official First Quarter 2015 business one month from now.)
Overall, the stock price closed at $16.52 on Friday before WrestleMania. On Monday morning, shares reached as high as $17.44, likely on the news of WrestleMania 31 setting a live attendance revenue record.
Right before WWE released the Network count at 12:00 EST, the stock price was at $16.62 per share, around Friday's closing price.
During the noon hour, the stock price dropped $3 during a big sell-off period, bottoming out at $13.75.
As of Monday afternoon, shares recovered slightly to the lower $14 range, 15 percent below Friday's closing price.