Stock BUZZ Before the Bell: Zynga COO Jumps Ship, Monster Beverage Plunges 9%

Shares of Zynga (NASDAQ:ZNGA) fell 2 percent in late afternoon hours. John Schappert, chief operating officer, has resigned after recently losing oversight of game development. “We can confirm that John Schappert has left Zynga and its Board of Directors effective immediately,” Zynga CEO Mark Pincus said in an emailed statement, according to Forbes. ”John has made significant contributions to the games industry throughout his career and we appreciate all that he has done for Zynga. John leaves as a friend of the company and we wish him all the best.”

News Corp (NASDAQ:NWSA) shares dropped more than 3 percent in late afternoon trading. The company reported a loss of $1.55 billion for its fiscal fourth quarter, compared to a net gain of $683 million a year earlier. Revenue also declined 6.6 percent to $8.37 billion.

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Dean Foods (NYSE:DF) continues to attract attention after surging 40 percent in regular trading. The company recently reported a profit of $56.2 million for the second quarter, compared to a net loss of $50.5 million a year earlier. “We continued to build on our momentum in the second quarter, delivering strong growth across all of our operating segments,” said Gregg Engles, chairman and chief executive officer. “In addition to each of our businesses executing well against their stated plans, we also continued to benefit from disciplined expense control across the organization.”

Shares of Monster Beverage (NASDAQ:MNST) plunged nearly 9 percent in later afternoon hours. The company reported second quarter profits of $109.8 million (59 cents per share), falling below estimates of 61 cents per share. Gross margin also declined to 51.8 percent, compared to 52.8 percent last year.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) shares continue to hang around $620 as the company bids for patents being auctioned by Eastman Kodak. Apple and Google (NASDAQ:GOOG) have both bid between $150 million and $250 million for 1,100 digital patents being auctioned by the bankrupted firm, according to a Wall Street Journal report.

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