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A rollercoaster summer for Pandora (NYSE: P) shares continued today as the social media stock fell 17% to all but erode its recent 25% gain.
Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) seemed to be the cause of the online radio company’s latest drop.
Apple is threatening to launch its own streaming-radio service. Considering anything Apple touches these days turns to gold, no wonder Pandora shares are falling so fast.
As of now, Pandora users can listen to the music service on their iPhones and other Apple products. If Apple launches its own in-house music service, it’s sure to give Pandora the boot.
The Wall Street Journal reports that Apple does plan to use its own hardware should it move forward with the new service. The company recently opened discussions with music-licensing services to prepare for its potential new offering.
Should Apple launch the new product, it would surely steal away some of Pandora’s 55 million users.
Today’s 17% drop is just the latest seesaw move by a highly volatile stock. Pandora shares dipped all the way to $9.30 last month only to rally to $12.57 early this month after an improved earnings report on August 29.
At $10.28 a share, the stock is down roughly 40% from its $16 IPO price. Pandora went public last June.
Having never turned an annual profit, Pandora has struggled since going public.
Competition from Apple wouldn’t help the company become profitable any time soon.