Mentor Graphics 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 Mentor Graphics (NAS: MENT) rose more than 14% on better than three times the average trading volume after reporting strong third-quarter results.

So what: Revenue rose 5% to $250.5 million while earnings jumped 57% to $0.22 a share. Mentor earned $0.25 a share after excluding special items, well ahead of the $0.21 a share Wall Street had been calling for.

Now what: The size of the beat helped offset a lower-than-expected fourth-quarter outlook. Mentor Graphics projects $0.50 a share of adjusted earnings on $136 million in revenue. Wall Street, by contrast, was calling for $0.53 a share and $315.9 million, respectively. Were investors wrong to ignore the miss? Would you buy shares of Mentor Graphics at current prices? Please weigh in using the comments box below.

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