CyberSource spikes after 1st-quarter results top Wall Street

Shares of CyberSource Corp. spiked Wednesday after the online payment service provider reported first-quarter results above Wall Street estimates and reiterated a full-year guidance that some analysts called conservative.

In midday trading, shares rose $2.22, or 13.6 percent, to $18.51.

Late Tuesday, the Mountain View, Calif.-based company said its first-quarter income slid to $533,000, or a penny per share, from $736,000, or 2 cents per share, in the year-ago period.

Excluding expenses for stock-based compensation and other items, CyberSource posted adjusted income of $11.5 million, or 16 cents per share, nearly quadruple the $3 million, or 8 cents per share, recorded in the year-ago period.

On average, analysts polled by Thomson Financial expected income of 14 cents per share.

Revenue more than doubled to $53.4 million from $22.1 million, surpassing analyst estimates of $51.3 million.

CyberSource also said it processed 445 million billable transactions, up 68 percent from the year-ago period.

For the second quarter, the company projected adjusted income of 14 cents per share, on $54 million to $54.5 million in revenue. Analysts forecast income of 14 cents per share on $52.7 million in revenue.

For the full year, CyberSource reiterated its guidance for adjusted income of 59 cents and 61 cents per share on revenue of $215 million and $220 million. Analysts forecast profit of 62 cents per share on revenue of $218.5 million.

The company also announced a $10 million stock buyback program.

"CyberSource reported another solid quarter with no evidence of adverse headwinds from slowing consumer spending," Oppenheimer analyst Glenn Greene wrote in a note to investors.

He added that the company's management indicated it has not noticed any change in its transaction trends due to slower consumer spending. He also said the company's full-year outlook "appears increasingly conservative to us."

Greene rates CyberSource "Perform".

SunTrust Robinson Humphrey analyst Andrew W. Jeffrey was similarly sanguine on CyberSource's prospects.

"We remain 'Neutral' but other than the shares' recent run, management's seemingly excess dose of conservatism and the stock's valuation, it is becoming increasingly difficult to justify our conservative view on the name," he wrote in a note to clients.

He added that SunTrust would likely review its rating on CyberSource if the stock posts any significant decline.

CyberSource shares have ranged from $10.85 to $19.63 over the past year.