Riverbed Shares Jumped: What You Need to Know

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 network optimization specialist Riverbed Technology (NAS: RVBD) were getting a push from investors today, gaining as much as 10% on a couple of positive research notes.

So what: Analysts at Lazard (NYS: LAZ) and ThinkEquity Partners published some positive views on Riverbed today. At Lazard, Ryan Hutchinson gave a big thumbs-up to the company's Cascade product, which is on track to bring in $40 million in revenue this year and, according to Hutchinson, grow to $100 million by 2015. Meanwhile, Rajesh Ghai at ThinkEquity suggested that the current expectations for the third quarter are too low and that it should be an easy bar for Riverbed to meet.

Now what: Should you jump on Riverbed's stock because of these bullish research notes? Probably not. At least, not solely because of them. Wall Street views like these can be a good reason to take a closer look at a stock, but Foolish investors are best served by digging in with some of their own research to confirm the views or find complimentary reasons to be a buyer.

It's also worth noting that while bullish Wall Street research almost always has a marked positive effect on a stock, it doesn't change the underlying fundamentals of the company in question.

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At the time thisarticle was published Motley Fool newsletter services have recommended buying shares of Riverbed Technology. Motley Fool newsletter services have recommended writing puts in Riverbed Technology. Try any of our Foolish newsletter services free for 30 days. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors.Fool contributor Matt Koppenheffer does not have a financial interest in any of the companies mentioned. You can check out what Matt is keeping an eye on by visiting his CAPS portfolio, or you can follow Matt on Twitter @KoppTheFool or Facebook. The Fool's disclosure policy prefers dividends over a sharp stick in the eye.

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