Pursuits

Sotheby's Predicts `Significant' Loss This Quarter as Sales Drop

  • Auction sales are down 33% so far this year, company says
  • Barrington Research cuts rating citing 'mass exodus' of talent

Dan Loeb.

Photographer: Amanda Gordon/Bloomberg
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Sotheby’s, the auctioneer that’s undergoing a management shakeup under pressure from activist hedge fund manager Dan Loeb, forecast a significant first-quarter loss amid a decline in auction sales.

First-quarter sales are down 33 percent so far this year, at $438 million, the company said Friday on a conference call, after reporting a fourth-quarter net loss of $11.2 million. The shares fell the most in two weeks.