Rovi Shares Got Crushed: 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 home-entertainment technologist Rovi (NAS: ROVI) plummeted 35% Wednesday after its quarterly results and outlook disappointed Wall Street.

So what: While Rovi's third-quarter adjusted earnings managed to top estimates, a miss on the top line -- $196.5 million versus the consensus of $197.9 million -- suggests that growth continues to slow at a very worrisome rate. In fact, the shares are hitting a new 52-week low on the news and have fallen more than 50% year-to-date.

Now what: Don't expect much in the short term. Management expects 2011 results to come in near the low end of its August forecast and sees 2012 revenue growth in the mid-to-high single digits, versus Wall Street's forecast of 15.5%. Of course, with tech titans like Apple (NAS: AAPL) and Microsoft (NAS: MSFT) to deal with, Rovi isn't exactly an ideal long term opportunity, either.

Interested in more info onRovi?Add it to your watchlist.

At the time thisarticle was published Fool contributor Brian Pacampara owns no position in any of the companies mentioned. The Motley Fool owns shares of Apple and Microsoft. Motley Fool newsletter services have recommended buying shares of and creating a bull call spread position in Apple and Microsoft. 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. The Fool's disclosure policy always gets a perfect score.

Copyright © 1995 - 2011 The Motley Fool, LLC. All rights reserved. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.