Zynga shares (Nasdaq: ZNGA) recovered slightly in after-hours trading Wedesday after the company released its third quarter earnings report.

As the Wall Street Journal reports, shares in the San Francisco-based social game developer began to surge more than 12 percent, almost reaching $2.50, in Wednesday trading. Zynga, which has struggled to maintain a share price above $3 for much of the past quarter, took a sharp plunge in the stock market Tuesday after news broke that it had laid off more than 100 employees and shuttered a studio while much of the tech blogosphere was preoccupied with the iPad Mini announcement.

Zynga shares had wobbled well below the $2.50 price point Wednesday, closing at $2.12.

Zynga, which was widely expected to post losses, actually beat revenue estimates but still missed earnings estimates. The company reported a loss of $52.7 million, or 7 cents a share. On an adjusted basis, it managed to break even at 0 cents a share -- down from earnings of 4 cents a share the previous year.

Revenue increased 3 percent from the previous year $316.6 million. According to analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters, the company was expected to report revenues of $259.93 million.

The company also announced a $200 million buyback program on Wednesday. The new concession to investors comes after Zynga’s CEO Mark Pincus allegedly offered employees stock options to disgruntled employees in late August after the company’s weak second quarter earnings report sent it into its ongoing stock market tumble.

For the full year, the company forecast adjusted earnings per share (EPS) to “in the range of 0.02 to $0.03,” with bookings ranging from $1.09 to $1.1 billion. Adjusted EBITDA was in the range of $152 million to $162 million.

“While the last several months have been challenging for us, Zynga remains well positioned to capitalize on the growth of social gaming,” CEO Mark Pincus wrote in the press release.

Stock in Zynga was trading at $15 per share as recently as last spring.