Why JDS Uniphase Shares Plunged

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 JDS Uniphase fell more than 10% during intraday trading Thursday after the company reported solid fiscal first-quarter 2014 quarterly results, but weak forward guidance.

So what: Quarterly revenue came in at $429 million, which translated to adjusted earnings of $0.13 per share. Both numbers beat analysts' estimates, which called for adjusted earnings of $0.12 per share on sales of $423.17 million.

However, JDS Uniphase also issued fiscal second quarter 2014 revenue guidance in the range of $420 million to $440 million, which is significantly below expectations for Q4 sales of $456.92 million.

Now what: Management blamed the shortfall on mixed first-quarter bookings, which included strength in JDS' Optical Communications offerings, but lighter bookings in its Network and Service Enablement products thanks to "weak order intake in North America, including the U.S. government."

To be sure, with shares currently trading at nearly 55 times last year's earnings, and with a potential slowdown in the works, it's hard to blame investors for bidding the stock down today.

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The article Why JDS Uniphase Shares Plunged originally appeared on Fool.com.

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