Why Aspen Technology Shares Jumped (AZPN)

Why Aspen Technology Shares Jumped

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 Aspen Technology (NASDAQ: AZPN ) have jumped today by as much as 16% after the company reported solid earnings.

So what: Revenue in the quarter was $77.3 million, a gain of 16% over the prior year. That resulted into non-GAAP net income of $12.3 million, or $0.13 per share. The Street's forecasts of $67.5 million in sales and a $0.05 per share profit simply couldn't keep up.

Now what: CEO Mark Fusco said the company bested its guidance on all relevant metrics and saw strong demand and usage patterns. The company is guiding the current quarter to sales of $71 million to $74 million. Aspen also raised guidance for its full fiscal year 2013 that ends in June and now sees revenue of $295 million to $302 million, up from its previous range of $285 million to $295 million. Non-GAAP EPS for the year should be $0.28 to $0.33.

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

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