Radware shares sink after 1Q results disappoint

Shares of Radware Ltd. tumbled Monday after the Israeli network management software maker posted disappointing first-quarter results as higher costs outweighed a small revenue gain and led to a much wider loss than Wall Street expected.

The company reported a loss of 42 cents per share. The quarter's adjusted loss was 32 cents per share, well below average analyst estimates of a loss of 5 cents per share, according to Thomson Financial.

Revenue, however was only slightly below Wall Street's expectations. RBC analyst Mark Sue kept a "Sector Perform" rating on the company and called its performance "inconsistent."

Ferris, Baker Watts analyst Matthew Robison, who rates Radware "Neutral," said the shortfall was due in part to higher-than-expected operating costs and the "relative absence of interest income." The weakness of the U.S. dollar against the Israeli shekel, the euro, the Australian dollar and Asian currencies also hurt results.

Robison added that U.S. sales were "particularly weak" during the quarter at just 24 percent of total revenue _ down from 32 percent from the fourth quarter. Sales in Asia Pacific markets made up 40 percent of the quarter's revenue, up from 31 percent in the prior quarter.

Shares of Tel Aviv-based Radware fell $1.14, or 10.7 percent, to close at $9.50 after earlier hitting $8.92, their lowest level since 2003.