Why Qlik Technologies Shares Soared

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 business software maker Qlik Technologies surged 20% today after its quarterly results and outlook easily topped Wall Street expectations.

So what: The stock has slumped over the past year on concerns over slowing growth, but impressive fourth-quarter results -- EPS of $0.25 on a revenue spike of 27% -- coupled with upbeat full-year guidance is helping ease those worries. In fact, revenue in Europe -- an area that accounts for roughly 60% of Qlik's business -- increased a healthy 20% during the quarter, giving Wall Street plenty of optimism over a prolonged pickup in demand.

Now what: Management now sees full-year 2013 EPS of $0.39-$0.42 on revenue of $465 million-$475 million, versus Wall Street's view of $0.38 and $452.7 million. "As we look ahead to 2013," said CEO Lars Bjork, "we continue to see strong demand for our products and we are focused on broadening our service offerings, further improving our customer ROI and driving significant levels of growth, while also targeting modest improvements in our profit margins." With the stock now up more than 50% over the past three months alone, however, I'd wait for some of the excitement to fade before buying into that bull talk.

Interested in more info Qlik? Add it to your watchlist.

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The article Why Qlik Technologies Shares Soared originally appeared on Fool.com.

Fool contributor Brian Pacampara has no position in any stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool recommends Qlik Technologies. 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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