What happened
NerdWallet (NRDS 2.61%) stock surged 27.5% higher this week, from last Friday's close through noon ET on Feb. 17, according to S&P Global Market Intelligence. The stock is trading at about $17.50 per share, up about 82% year to date.
It outpaced the major market indexes as the S&P 500 was down 0.9%, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was off 0.8%, and the Nasdaq Composite dropped 0.1% this week.
So what
NerdWallet provides individuals and small businesses with advice and information about personal finance. It primarily makes money from commissions from credit card issuers and banks when users sign up for credit cards or take out loans.
The stock took off this week after the release of an excellent fourth-quarter earnings report on Feb. 14, which showed the company beating revenue and earnings estimates.
Revenue was up 43% year over year to $142 million, which topped consensus estimates of $139 million. Net income was $8.9 million, or $0.12 per share, up from a net loss of $7.9 million a year ago this quarter. Consensus estimates were for $0.07 earnings per share.
NASDAQ: NRDS
Key Data Points
The company got a big boost in credit card revenue, up 52% to $53 million. It also saw its number of average monthly unique users climb to 20 million in the quarter, up 9% year over year.
Two analysts raised their price targets for NerdWallet on the solid report. KeyBanc's Justin Patterson bumped it to $18 per share from $16, while Barclays' Ross Sandler increased it to $21 per share from $16. Sandler said the "stellar" fourth-quarter results in a challenging market show that NerdWallet is standing out among its peers, reported the Fly.
Now what
The company issued guidance, calling for revenue to grow roughly 30% year over year to a range of $165 million to $170 million at the midpoint of the fiscal year. Adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA) is expected to be in the range of $17 million $19 million, also a year-over-year increase.
This is a good little stock that has already become profitable in just two years as a public company. It has no outstanding debt and seems to be executing on its strategy to expand its verticals and integrate them. Keep an eye on it.
