Friday, April 26, 2013

Why Qlik Technologies Shares Popped

Although we don't believe in timing the market or panicking over market movements, we do like to keep an eye on big changes -- just in case they're material to our investing thesis.

What: Shares of business software specialist Qlik Technologies (NASDAQ: QLIK  ) climbed 13% today after its quarterly results and outlook easily topped Wall Street expectations.

So what: The company's first-quarter loss widened to $13.2 million, but a clear beat on the top line -- revenue jumped 22% to $96.5 million vs. the consensus of $91.3 million -- coupled with upbeat guidance for the full year reinforces optimism about its growth going forward. While IT spending as a whole remains weak, Qlik continues to benefit from companies looking to boost efficiency through data mining and analysis, giving growth-oriented investors somewhat of a safe haven in the tech sector.

Now what: Management now sees full-year 2013 EPS of $0.41-$0.44 on revenue of $471 million-$481 million, up nicely from its prior view of $0.39-$0.42 and $465 million-$475 million. "We continue to benefit from sales process improvements across the enterprise, expanded service and support offerings, and ongoing momentum across our partner network," CEO Lars Bjork said. With the stock flirting with its 52-week high once again and sporting a rather lofty forward P/E, however, I'd wait for some of the excitement to fade before buying into that bullishness.

Interested in more info on Qlik? Add it to your Watchlist.

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