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Zynga (ZNGA), which allows people to play casino games like Poker online with digital money, has taken its first steps to start offering real money games in the U.S. as it looks to take advantage of sweeping changes to American gambling rules. The San Francisco-based maker of online social games like “Words with Friends” and “Farmville” filed an application this week with the Nevada Gaming Control Board for a gaming license in the state. Zynga’s shares, which have fallen some 75% over the last year, were up about 7% to $ 2.54 on the news. In a statement, Zynga said [...]

SAN FRANCISCO Tech stocks tried to edge upward in early trading Friday, but it was notable losses from Zynga Inc. and Groupon Inc. that took the sector’s spotlight. Zynga shares fell almost 9%, to $ 2.39 after the company on Thursday announced changes to it online-gaming partnership with Facebook Inc. , while Groupon was down by more than 8%, at $ 4.16 as the online daily deal company’s board decided to stick with Chief Executive Andrew Mason. The Nasdaq Composite Index remained near its breakeven point of 3,011.

SAN FRANCISCO Zynga Inc. saw its battered stock take another spill Thursday afternoon after the company issued a filing showing some changes to its relationship with Facebook Inc. — among them that the social network will be able to develop its own games if it chooses to. Zynga shares slid more than 12% to $ 2.30 in after-hours trades. In the filing, Zynga said it is no longer obligated to use Facebook’s credits system to handle payments for games offered on its own Zynga.com platform. But any of Zynga’s games offered on that platform – with a few exceptions – [...]

SAN FRANCISCO Zynga Inc. announced an executive shakeup after the close of trading Tuesday that includes the departure of Chief Financial Officer David Wehner. Zynga said in a statement that Wehner is leaving the online gaming company “to pursue a senior finance position with Facebook Inc. .” Mark Vranesh, Zynga’s chief accounting officer, will become the company’s new CFO. Additionally, Zynga said David Ko, its chief mobile officer, will now become chief operations officer; Barry Cottle, the company’s executive vice president for business and corporate development, will take over as chief revenue officer, and and Steven Chiang, executive vice president [...]

SAN FRANCISCO Zynga Inc.’s downtrodden shares jumped more than 15% in after-hours trades to $ 2.45 on Wednesday. Within its results for the third-quarter, the social game maker announced that its board has authorized a share buyback of up to $ 200 million. Zynga’s shares have crashed since its December IPO at $ 10. In a separate statement, Zynga announced a deal with bwin.party to offer real-money gaming in the U.K. The deal will involve Zynga’s Poker and Casino titles, as well as a slots game based on Zynga’s popular “FarmVille” franchise. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. [...]

In an effort to cut costs as it struggles to improve its bottom line and keep customers interested in its suite of online games, Zynga (ZNGA) announced this week plans to cut up to 5% of its full-time workforce. Zynga employed about 2,916 people as of March 31, meaning some145 positions could be impacted in what marks the first time Zynga has launched company-wide layoffs since its inception. “We are closing the Zynga Boston studio and proposing closures of the Zynga Japan and UK studios,” CEO Mark Pincus said in a note to employees that was later posted online. “All [...]

SAN FRANCISCO Facebook Inc. said its revenue from its relationship with online gaming company Zynga Inc. slipped to 7% of its total revenue in the third quarter, compared with 10% in the second quarter, and 12% in the third quarter of last year. Shares of Zynga were up 3% in after-hours trading. The stock shed more than 5% in regular trading, and has dropped more than 75% year-to-date. Shares of Facebook were up 10% after-hours. Zynga reports its own third-quarter results on Wednesday afternoon. The company is expected to detail cost-reduction plans, though some media outlets were reporting layoffs at the company on Tuesday afternoon.

SAN FRANCISCO Zynga Inc. confirmed on Tuesday afternoon that it is closing one studio and laying off about 5% of its total workforce in a cost-cutting move. In an e-mail to Zynga employees, CEO Mark Pincus said the company was closing its Boston studio and “proposing closures of the Zynga Japan and UK studios,” along with cuts to its studio in Austin, Texas. The move was somewhat expected, as Zynga had said it would reduce its costs in an earnings pre-announcement on Oct. 4, in which the company cited underperformance of some of its social and mobile games. On Tuesday, [...]

SAN FRANCISCO Zynga Inc. was downgraded to a neutral rating by Robert W. Baird on Friday. Analyst Colin Sebastian cited the company’s lowered forecast for the fiscal year, which was issued late Thursday afternoon. “While the company’s over-dependence on Facebook and ongoing headwinds in user monetization are no secret, the magnitude of the Q4 miss heightens our platform concerns, and we are moving to the sidelines until there is more tangible evidence of a successful turnaround in the offing,” he wrote. He cut his price target on the stock to $ 3 from $ 6. Zynga shares were down 20% at $ 2.24 in premarket [...]

SAN FRANCISCO Shares of Zynga Inc. and Facebook Inc. fell early Friday in reaction to Zynga’s sharply-lowered forecast from Thursday afternoon. Zynga plunged more than 20%, tripping the Nasdaq’s circuit breaker meant to shield stocks from manipulation by short-sellers. The stock was downgraded to neutral by Baird citing concerns over the “magnitude” of the forecast cut. Facebook, where most of Zynga’s games are played, saw its shares sink 3% after J.P. Morgan cut its revenue target for Facebook’s Payments unit based on the social gaming firm’s outlook change. Also in the red were shares of Hewlett-Packard which were down nearly [...]