Dolby Labs Shares Popped: 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 audio technologist Dolby Laboratories (NYS: DLB) surged 11% today after its quarterly results and guidance easily topped Wall Street estimates.

So what: Dolby's fourth-quarter beat was so wide -- EPS of $0.81 trounced the consensus estimate of $0.59 -- that analysts have no choice but to increase their growth projections. Dolby shares have been battered in recent months on concerns over the loss of PC-related revenue, but licensing revenue growth of 15% suggests that it is positioned just fine in other attractive markets.

Now what: Looking ahead, management now sees full-year fiscal 2012 EPS of $2.71-$3.02, which also thumped Wall Street's EPS forecast of $2.66. "We continue to see a significant opportunity in broadcast and remain focused on extending our technologies to online content and a growing array of portable devices," CEO Kevin Yeaman said. More importantly, with the stock still down around 55% year to date and sporting a cheapish forward P/E of roughly 11, buying into that optimism won't come at a high price.

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At the time thisarticle was published Fool contributor Brian Pacampara owns no position in any of the companies mentioned. Motley Fool newsletter services have recommended buying shares of Dolby. 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.

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