Yahoo Shares Slump As Chief Marketing Officer Kathy Savitt Becomes Latest Exec To Depart

Yahoo Inc. shares tumbled 3.6% Monday as investors digested news of the departure of the company's chief marketing officer Kathy Savitt on Friday, the latest in a string of exits by senior managers from the internet company. Savitt, who was one of Chief Executive Marissa Mayer's first hires in 2012, is leaving the company to join Hollywood studio STX Entertainment. The news came a week after the company said chief accounting officer Aman Kothari was leaving. "Accelerating high profile executive departures suggest pressure on Ms. Mayer may be increasing," SunTrust Robinson Humphrey said in a note. "However, at current share prices, the market likely is pricing in the worst-case scenario." Yahoo has yet to decide whether to proceed with its planned spin-off of a stake in Alibaba Group Holdings Inc. , after it was told by the IRS that it would not gain tax-free status for the deal. Adding to the downdraft Monday, a Barron's story said Alibaba could fall another 50% as the Chinese economy struggles and the company's loses market share to e-commerce rivals, among other factors. Alibaba, in a lengthy response, slammed the Barron's piece. Alibaba shares fell 3.5%. Yahoo and Alibaba shares are down 40% in the year so far, while the S&P 500 has lost about 6%.