Piper Jaffray shares rise despite $2.7M first-quarter loss

Investment bank Piper Jaffray Cos. said Wednesday that its first-quarter loss widened, but results were better than analysts had forecast. Shares shot up nearly 12 percent in morning trading, adding $3.20 to $30.28. For the period ended March 31, Piper Jaffray recorded a loss of $2.7 million, or 17 cents per share, compared with a loss of $1.4 million, or 9 cents per share, a year earlier. Revenue fell 12 percent to $83.9 million from $95.7 million. Still, results exceeded analysts' estimates. According to a poll by Thomson Reuters, the average analyst estimate was a loss of 23 cents per share on revenue of $81.5 million. Results were hurt by big declines in investment banking and asset management revenue, which were partly offset by a jump in revenue from the firm's institutional brokerage. With fewer merger and acquisition deals and stock offerings taking place due to the turmoil in the market, investment banking revenue has suffered. For the first quarter, investment banking revenue dropped 59 percent to $25.3 million. However, institutional sales and trading generated net revenue of $58.5 million, up 74 percent from the prior-year period. Specifically, fixed income sales and trading revenue jumped to $27.8 million from $2.3 million as investors sought the safety of bonds during the quarter. The company's expenses also declined significantly. Interest expense dropped to $2.2 million from $6.9 million in the first quarter of last year. Other expenses were down 17 percent.