JMP starts Zynga with "market outperform" rating, shares jump

JMP Securities initiated coverage on Zynga Inc with a "market outperform" rating, Dow Jones reported, sending the social gaming company's shares up as much as 10 percent.

Zynga, one of the several Internet startups that made a debut with fanfare last year, slashed its 2012 earnings outlook late last month blaming a steep drop-off in players for its core Facebook Inc money makers.

Shares of the San Francisco based creator of "Farmville" were up 7 percent at $3.17 on the Nasdaq on Wednesday morning. They have lost more than 40 percent of their value since the company slashed its outlook on July 25.

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