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 Constant Contact Inc (CTCT.DL) rose nearly 11% Friday after the company released better-than-expected first-quarter results and forward guidance.
So what: Quarterly revenue rose 15.6%, to $78.9 million, which translated to adjusted net income of $5 million, or $0.16 per diluted share. Analysts, on average, were looking for adjusted earnings of $0.13 per share on sales of $78.59 million.
For the current quarter, Constant Contact expects revenue in the range of $81 million to $81.3 million, with adjusted earnings per share of $0.18 to $0.20. By contrast, analysts were looking for Q2 earnings and revenue of $0.18 per share and $80.96 million, respectively.
Finally, for the full year 2014, Constant Contact sees revenue of roughly $330 million, and adjusted net income of $1.02 per share. Once again, both numbers sit slightly higher than consensus estimates, which call for 2014 earnings of $1.00 per share on sales of $329.6 million.
Now what: This beat was relatively small, but the results and guidance were solid by any measure. If Constant Contact can continue increasing margins despite its modest top-line growth, I think the stock should be able to reward patient investors even after today's pop.
