Does The Street Have Acme Packet Figured Out?

Seth Jayson, The Motley Fool
Updated

Acme Packet (NAS: APKT) is expected to report Q3 earnings on Oct. 25. Here's what Wall Street wants to see:

The 10-second takeaway
 Comparing the upcoming quarter to the prior-year quarter, average analyst estimates predict Acme Packet's revenues will contract -9.1% and EPS will compress -66.7%.

The average estimate for revenue is $64.2 million. On the bottom line, the average EPS estimate is $0.07.


Revenue details
 Last quarter, Acme Packet chalked up revenue of $67.6 million. GAAP reported sales were 15% lower than the prior-year quarter's $79.7 million.

Source: S&P Capital IQ. Quarterly periods. Dollar amounts in millions. Non-GAAP figures may vary to maintain comparability with estimates.

EPS details
 Last quarter, non-GAAP EPS came in at $0.13. GAAP EPS shrank to zero from the prior-year quarter's $0.20.

Source: S&P Capital IQ. Quarterly periods. Non-GAAP figures may vary to maintain comparability with estimates.

Recent performance
 For the preceding quarter, gross margin was 80.1%, 250 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter. Operating margin was -0.2%, 2,850 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter. Net margin was -0.2%, 1,780 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter.

Looking ahead

The full year's average estimate for revenue is $271.4 million. The average EPS estimate is $0.47.

Investor sentiment
 The stock has a three-star rating (out of five) at Motley Fool CAPS, with 484 members out of 558 rating the stock outperform, and 74 members rating it underperform. Among 133 CAPS All-Star picks (recommendations by the highest-ranked CAPS members), 120 give Acme Packet 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 Acme Packet is hold, with an average price target of $30.19.

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The article Does The Street Have Acme Packet Figured Out? originally appeared on Fool.com.

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. The Motley Fool has no positions in the stocks mentioned above. Motley Fool newsletter services recommend Acme Packet. 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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