Athenahealth Beats Analyst Estimates on EPS

Seth Jayson, The Motley Fool
Updated

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

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

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


Margins shrank across the board.

Revenue details
 Athenahealth reported revenue of $116.3 million. The 16 analysts polled by S&P Capital IQ looked for revenue of $117.0 million on the same basis. GAAP reported sales were 26% higher than the prior-year quarter's $92.5 million.

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

EPS details
 EPS came in at $0.29. The 18 earnings estimates compiled by S&P Capital IQ averaged $0.28 per share. GAAP EPS of $0.16 for Q4 were 6.7% higher than the prior-year quarter's $0.15 per share.

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

Margin details
 For the quarter, gross margin was 61.1%, 130 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter. Operating margin was 10.0%, 10 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter. Net margin was 5.1%, 70 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter.

Looking ahead
 Next quarter's average estimate for revenue is $122.3 million. On the bottom line, the average EPS estimate is $0.25.

Next year's average estimate for revenue is $542.8 million. The average EPS estimate is $1.22.

Investor sentiment
 The stock has a two-star rating (out of five) at Motley Fool CAPS, with 191 members out of 243 rating the stock outperform, and 52 members rating it underperform. Among 71 CAPS All-Star picks (recommendations by the highest-ranked CAPS members), 55 give Athenahealth a green thumbs-up, and 16 give it a red thumbs-down.

Of Wall Street recommendations tracked by S&P Capital IQ, the average opinion on Athenahealth is hold, with an average price target of $79.18.

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The article Athenahealth Beats Analyst Estimates on EPS 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 recommends Athenahealth. 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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