Infoblox climbs as 3Q performance tops Street
Infoblox rises as 3Q results top Street, 4Q adj. profit outlook beats analysts' estimates
NEW YORK (AP) -- Shares of Infoblox rose to their highest level on Friday since going public a little more than a year ago. The bounce came as the company's fiscal third-quarter performance beat analysts' estimates, and its fourth-quarter earnings forecast topped Wall Street's view.
THE SPARK: Infoblox Inc., which makes technology for data centers, reported on Wednesday that it lost 1 cent per share for the three months ended April 30. Excluding certain items, earnings were 11 cents per share. Revenue climbed to $58 million from $54.4 million.
Analysts surveyed by FactSet expected earnings of 6 cents per share on revenue of $55.9 million, on average.
The company expects fourth-quarter adjusted earnings between 8 cents and 9 cents per share on revenue in a range of $58 million to $59 million. Wall Street is looking for earnings of 7 cents per share on revenue of $58 million.
For the full year, Infoblox foresees revenue between $220 million and $221 million. Analysts predict $218 million in revenue.
THE ANALYSIS: Sanjit Singh of Wedbush lifted Infoblox's price target to $28 from $24 and kept an "Outperform" rating. In a client note, the analyst said that the company managed to beat quarterly expectations amid soft spending and weak outlooks from its peers.
William Blair's Jason Ader said that Infoblox added customers in the quarter and saw growth across its products and services.
"The quarter produced broad-based success, with no real bones to pick," he wrote.
Ader maintained an "Outperform" rating.
InfoBlox President and CEO Robert Thomas said in a statement that the company is well positioned as network complexity increases.
"Demand for automation in the network will only grow as networks become more complex and more people, devices, homes, cars and IT systems get connected," he said.
SHARE ACTION: Infoblox's stock gained $2.73, or 12.4 percent, to $24.73 in afternoon trading. The shares reached $25.96 earlier in the session, their highest point since going public in April 2012. For the year to date, the stock is up 22.4 percent.
