Why TIBCO 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 middleware and infrastructure software provider TIBCO Software (NAS: TIBX) rallied as much as 11% earlier today following better-than-expected earnings results.

So what: For the quarter, TIBCO reported a 14% rise in revenue to $247.4 million with high-margin license revenue expanding 13%. Non-GAAP profits improved 24% to $0.26 per share. Both figures easily surpassed Wall Street's expectation for a profit of $0.23 on revenue of $244.6 million. TIBCO saw notable gains in the life sciences, health-care, and retail sectors of its business with strong international growth. The only weakness came from the United States where the company fired its head of sales.

Now what: TIBCO is quietly putting together a string of earnings beats and low-double-digit sales growth that's bound to turn some heads. Unfortunately, growth rates are just now finally catching up with TIBCO's lofty valuation. At 21 times forward earnings, TIBCO may not be a bad deal considering the ramp up in cloud-computing needed in the health-care sector, but with numerous competitors valued more cheaply, I'd just assume pass at these levels.

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

The article Why TIBCO Software Shares Popped originally appeared on Fool.com.

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.Motley Fool newsletter services have recommended buying shares of TIBCO Software. 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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