ValueClick Beats Up on Analysts Yet Again

Seth Jayson, The Motley Fool
Updated

ValueClick (NAS: VCLK) reported earnings on Feb. 7. Here are the numbers you need to know.

The 10-second takeaway
For the quarter ended Dec. 31 (Q4), ValueClick beat expectations on revenues and earnings per share.

Compared to the prior-year quarter, revenue grew significantly and GAAP earnings per share improved significantly.

Margins dropped across the board.

Revenue details
ValueClick notched revenue of $182.6 million. The 16 analysts polled by S&P Capital IQ expected to see revenue of $175.8 million. Sales were 42% higher than the prior-year quarter's $128.7 million.

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Source: S&P Capital IQ. Quarterly periods. Dollar amounts in millions.

EPS details
EPS came in at $0.35. The 15 earnings estimates compiled by S&P Capital IQ averaged $0.30 per share. GAAP EPS of $0.35 for Q4 were 35% higher than the prior-year quarter's $0.26 per share.

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Source: S&P Capital IQ. Quarterly periods. Figures may be non-GAAP to maintain comparability with estimates.

Margin details
For the quarter, gross margin was 59.4%, 1,310 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter. Operating margin was 25.0%, 40 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter. Net margin was 16.1%, 30 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter.

Looking ahead
Next quarter's average estimate for revenue is $158.3 million. On the bottom line, the average EPS estimate is $0.24.

Next year's average estimate for revenue is $709.2 million. The average EPS estimate is $1.20.

Investor sentiment
The stock has a three-star rating (out of five) at Motley Fool CAPS, with 564 members out of 601 rating the stock outperform, and 37 members rating it underperform. Among 180 CAPS All-Star picks (recommendations by the highest-ranked CAPS members), 167 give ValueClick a green thumbs-up, and 13 give it a red thumbs-down.

Of Wall Street recommendations tracked by S&P Capital IQ, the average opinion on ValueClick is outperform, with an average price target of $20.44.

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At the time thisarticle was published Seth Jayson had no position in any company mentioned here at the time of publication. You can view his stock holdings here. He is co-advisor ofMotley Fool Hidden Gems, which provides new small-cap ideas every month, backed by a real-money portfolio. 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 Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

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