What: Shares of marketing software technologist Marketo (NASDAQ: MKTO) surged as much as 26% Friday after its quarterly results and outlook impressed Wall Street. By 3:30 p.m. the stock was up 22% from the previous close.
So what: The stock has slumped in recent weeks on cloud-based growth concerns heading into the quarter, but a wide Q2 beat -- loss of just $0.16 per share versus the consensus of a $0.23 loss -- coupled with upbeat full-year guidance is quickly easing those worries. In fact, revenue for the quarter surged 41% while billings grew 48% over the year-ago period, suggesting that Marketo's competitive position in the marketing software space is strengthening much faster than Mr. Market thinks.
Now what: Management now sees a 2015 loss of $0.78-$0.70 per share on revenue of $209 million to $211 million, nicely ahead of Wall Street's view of an $0.83 loss on revenue of $209 million. "During the quarter we made excellent progress in expanding our sales leadership team, continuing our success in the enterprise and deepening our relationships with key strategic customers," said Chairman and CEO Phil Fernandez. "At the same time, we launched another wave of innovative products that continue to extend our competitive differentiation in the marketplace." Of course, with the stock now up more than 30% from its 52-week lows, I'd wait for some of the excitement to fade before betting too heavily on those prospects.
