Why Jive Software Shares Popped

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 enterprise collaborative software company Jive Software (NAS: JIVE) are jumping by as much as 12% today following speculation that one of its competitors will be bought out.

So what: Jive Software's rally can be attributed to feverish rumors from Bloomberg and Twitter that Microsoft (NAS: MSFT) might be interested in purchasing privately held Yammer. It would be an interesting move, as Microsoft's SharePoint is still the premium collaborative software in business. Other competitors in this space include salesforce.com (NYS: CRM) with its Chatter service and VMware (NYS: VMW) , which owns SocialCast, but neither of these two are seeing the pure-play move higher like Jive, as they have their fingers in so many other business segments.

Now what: I'd hesitate to believe the rumors of a possible Yammer buyout and stick to my investment thesis on Jive prior to hearing today's "news." Personally, I've maintained a CAPScall of underperform on Jive as expenses continue to outpace sales growth. Until I see that elusive profit, I really feel Jive has a lot to prove to investors.

Craving more input? Start by adding Jive Software to your free and personalized watchlist so you can keep up with the latest news on the company.

At the time thisarticle was published Fool contributor Sean Williams has no material interest in any companies mentioned in this article. You can follow him on CAPS under the screen name TMFUltraLong, track every pick he makes under the screen name TrackUltraLong, and check him out on Twitter, where he goes by the handle @TMFUltraLong.The Motley Fool owns shares of Microsoft and salesforce.com. Motley Fool newsletter services have recommended buying shares of Microsoft, salesforce.com, and VMware, as well as creating a bull call spread position in Microsoft, and a bear put spread position in salesforce.com. Try any of our Foolish newsletter services free for 30 days. We Fools don't 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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