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 Investment Technology Group (ITG) were up as much as 13% today, following a strong earnings report.
So what: The investment management company posted an adjusted earnings per share of $0.27, better than the analyst consensus at $0.20 and up from $0.05 a year ago, while revenues rose to $139.3 million, well ahead of estimates at $126 million. CEO Bob Gasser noted, "Continued positive momentum in our European and Asia Pacific businesses and improved average revenue capture in the U.S. drove significant improvements in profitability." Analysts had expected sales of just $131.5 million.
Now what: The strong growth was driven in part by a 41% increase in daily volume traded through ITG's POSIT alerts, which notify clients of investment opportunities that are particularly appealing. With strong growth in that area as well as overseas, ITG may be poised for more quarters like this one. On Tuesday, the company launched POSIT alert for Mexico, which should help fuel further increases in POSIT usage. I'd keep on eye those numbers going forward as ITG seems the operational leverage working in its favor. You can stay on track by adding ITG to your Watchlist here.
