Why Blucora Shares Popped

Updated

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 Blucora have popped by as much as 24% today after the company announced first-quarter results.

So what: Revenue in the first quarter totaled $165.3 million, which translated into non-GAAP earnings per share of $0.95. Investors would have been happy with just $158.8 million in sales, and Blucora's bottom-line result decimated the consensus estimate of just $0.50 per share in profit. CEO Bill Ruckelshaus said both the company's online search and tax preparation segments are off to a strong start for 2013.


Now what: Second-quarter guidance calls for revenue in the range of $113 million to $117.5 million, with adjusted earnings per share of $0.51 to $0.55. While that may be shy of the consensus forecast of $0.61 per share, investors are focusing on the bottom-line beat just reported. Craig-Hallum boosted its rating on the stock from "hold" to "buy," while similarly increasing its price target from $18 to $20.

Interested in more info on Blucora? Add it to your watchlist by clicking here.

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The article Why Blucora Shares Popped originally appeared on Fool.com.

Fool contributor Evan Niu, CFA, has no position in any stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. 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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