CA shares gain after 4Q results top Street

Shares of software maker CA Inc. advanced Thursday, a day after the company beat Wall Street expectations on fourth-quarter earnings and revenue.

"Bookings were slightly ahead of our expectations and benefited from larger deals and lengthening terms, both a nice feather in the cap for CA," RBC Capital Markets analyst Robert Breza said in a client note Thursday.

He added, "The company continues to get it done and reinforce its image as a relatively defensive name given the large stable revenue base, improved margin profile and numerous cost control efforts."

Breza stuck with his "Sector Perform" rating on shares, however, noting a dip in sales and the rising cost of foreign currency swings for the company.

In the period ended March 31, CA said it earned 31 cents per share, excluding items. The average forecast from analysts was 29 cents.

Sales slipped 5 percent to $1.04 billion, but remained ahead of the average estimate of $1.03 billion.

Shares of Islandia, N.Y.-based CA jumped $1.18, or 6.8 percent, to $18.50 in afternoon trading.