SAN FRANCISCO (AP) ? Shares of Riverbed Technology Inc. jumped Thursday after the company, which provides virtualization and cloud computing services, reported third-quarter results that easily beat analysts’ expectations and guided for fourth-quarter revenue in line with Wall Street views.
THE SPARK: Riverbed said late Wednesday that its net income for the July-September quarter rose nearly 39 percent due to strong demand for its products and services.
Excluding one-time items, Riverbed earned 24 cents per share ? 3 cents more than what analysts polled by FactSet expected.
Revenue rose 28 percent to $190 million. Analysts forecast $185 million.
During a conference call to discuss its report, the company gave guidance for fourth-quarter revenue of $198 million to $202 million. Analysts were expecting $199 million.
THE ANALYSIS: In a client note, Cowen & Co. analyst John Marchetti called the quarter “strong” and kept his “Outperform” rating for the stock.
Though there were concerns that enterprise growth would slow, demand for the company’s products “appears healthy” he said. He added that Riverbed is the “clear leader” in a wide-area network optimization market, which he thinks is “still growing in importance with customers.”
SHARE ACTION: Riverbed Technology shares rose $1.99, or 8.8 percent, to $24.51 in afternoon trading. In the past year, the stock has traded between $18.33 and $44.70 a share.
