Packateer trading higher despite Q1 loss
Shares of Packateer Inc. (Nasdaq: PKTR) climbed this morning despite posting a net loss for the first quarter, when 11 analysts polled by Thomson First Call had expected earnings of $0.01 per share.
The Cupertino, Calif.-based information technology provider did top revenue expectations – reporting sales of $34.7 million for the quarter ended March 31, versus estimates of $32 million in revenue.
The news prompted JMP Securities to upgrade its rating on the stock to “Market Perform” from “Market Underperform.”
Despite the fact that revenues topped analysts’ estimates, the company pointed out that they had decreased sequentially from the $42.7 million reported in the fourth quarter 2006.
Packateer CEO Dave Cote said the revenue shortfall was mainly due to “longer product evaluations and proof of concept trials performed by various customers” that was a result of “an increasingly competitive marketplace,” and the firm’s inability to deliver several product enhancements by the end of the quarter.
Still, Packateer’s stock had gained $0.72, or 8.2%, to $9.50 this morning. Volume was heavy - about 1.5 million shares had exchanged hands by 11:34 ET compared with a three-month average daily volume of 687,676.
Shares have traded as low as $7.59 (on July 21, 2006) and as high as $14.35 (on May 5, 2006) in the past year.
The company plans to launch several new products by the end of the year as well as deliver product enhancements to its acceleration product lines by mid-May, according to Cote.
