Aspen Technology 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 Aspen Technology (NAS: AZPN) are skiing higher, up by as much as 17%, after the company reported second-quarter earnings.

So what: Revenue jumped 34% to $66.6 million, the majority of which came from subscription and software. Adjusted earnings per share came in at $0.06, a healthy improvement from the $0.09-per-share loss experienced the prior year, especially since analysts were expecting another loss this quarter.

Now what: Operating income also improved from a loss of $9.3 million last year to $7 million this quarter. CEO Mark Fusco said the company met or exceeded its guidance across all key metrics, and has confidence it will do the same throughout the year. The license portion of total contract value rose nearly 13%, which Aspen finds particularly meaningful.

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At the time thisarticle was published Fool contributorEvan Niuholds no position in any company mentioned.Click hereto see his holdings and a short bio. Try any of our Foolish newsletter servicesfree for 30 days. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe thatconsidering a diverse range of insightsmakes us better investors. The Motley Fool has adisclosure policy.

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