Barnes & Noble Inc. saw shares pop more than 6% in premarket trade after the company reported a fiscal second quarter loss that was smaller than expected. The book seller reported a net loss of $20.4 million, or 29 cents per share, compared to a net loss of $27.2 million, or 36 cents per share during the same period a year ago. The FactSet consensus was for a loss of 39 cents. Sales for the quarter hit $858.5 million, down 4% from the $894.7 million in sales last year. FactSet expected sales to come in at $845.0 million. Barnes & Noble said sales were sluggish due to the election cycle, with same-store sales dropping 3.2%, less than the 5% decline expected on FactSet. The company expects same-store sales to be down in the mid single digits for the full year 2017. Shares of Barnes & Noble are up more than 31.5% in the year to date, outperforming the S&P 500 Index , which is up more than 7%.
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