VMware Shares Got Crushed: What You Need to Know (VMW)

VMware Shares Got Crushed: What You Need to Know

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 VMware (NYSE: VMW ) fell 11% today, following the broader software industry down.

So what: Worry is spreading quickly after Oracle reported a disappointing quarter last night; VMware was just another of today's casualties. Investors are on edge about every nugget of bad news, so the entire industry took a nosedive today.

Now what: The news could be a canary in the coal mine for many software companies because Oracle has a beat on overall industry spending. A slowdown for them likely means a slowdown for everyone in the industry. I am definitely not buying during this dip and would wait to see how information trickles out from the industry to see if this is really bad news for VMware.

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

The Steve Jobs Betrayal
You may already know that in the final year of his life, Jobs revealed a stunning betrayal — and told his biographer, "I will spend my last dying breath... and every penny of Apple's $40 billion in the bank to right this wrong." What was it that made Jobs so irate — and why could it make a few in-the-know investors some major profits over the coming months and years?

Enter your email address below to find out what made Jobs so enraged!

Fool contributor Travis Hoium does not have a position in any company mentioned. You can follow Travis on Twitter at @FlushDrawFool, check out his personal stock holdings or follow his CAPS picks at TMFFlushDraw.

The Motley Fool owns shares of Oracle. Motley Fool newsletter services have recommended buying shares of VMware. 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.

Comments from our Foolish Readers

Help us keep this a respectfully Foolish area! This is a place for our readers to discuss, debate, and learn more about the Foolish investing topic you read about above. Help us keep it clean and safe. If you believe a comment is abusive or otherwise violates our Fool's Rules, please report it via the Report this Comment icon found on every comment.

Report this Comment On December 22, 2011, at 7:31 PM, JF125780 wrote:

Thank you Travis for this information on VMW. I was out of town and wondered why VMW took such hugh hit, and as usual wall street as always over reacts.
Danny Kowkabany