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 Citrix Systems (CTXS) are up more than 10% following a strong earnings report. Investors also have a fairly good set of forward guidance to rejoice over today.
So what: Citrix posted revenue of $740 million and adjusted earnings per share of $0.90. Both are well in advance of the consensus estimates, which sought $700 million on the top line and $0.84 on the bottom. The quarter's revenue also represents an impressive 19.5% year-over-year growth rate. However, Citrix's upcoming guidance is mixed. For the first quarter, the company envisions revenue in the range of $670 million to $680 million and EPS of $0.62 to $0.63. While revenue is ahead of the $669.1 million consensus estimate, EPS fell below the $0.67 sought by analysts. For the full year, EPS looks to be $3.12 to $3.15, exceeding the consensus, which called for $3.12.
Now what: With Citrix shares near multiyear highs and the stock's P/E ratio near those same highs, investors may want to take a closer look at the company before diving in. GAAP EPS has been rising significantly, but had tapered out prior to this quarter. Given Citrix's history of erratic movements, there may be better times to add this stock to your portfolio -- but I wouldn't ignore it.
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