Although we don't believe in timing the market or panicking over market movements, we do like to keep an eye on big changes -- just in case they're material to our investing thesis.
What: Shares of business software company Aspen Technology (AZPN +0.00%) climbed 11% today after its quarterly results topped Wall Street expectations.
So what: The stock has rallied nicely over the past year on better-than-expected growth, and today's Q3 results -- adjusted EPS of $0.25 tripled the consensus on a revenue spike of 30% -- only reinforce that trend. In fact, strong subscription and software demand more than offset a small revenue decline from its services segment, giving Wall Street plenty of good vibes over Aspen's ability to grow despite the challenging economic environment.
Now what: Don't expect the operating momentum to slow anytime soon. "We are seeing continued customer interest in our aspenONE subscription software offering, and believe we have a significant opportunity to increase the product penetration rate and usage levels among our large base of blue-chip customers," said CEO Mark Fusco. Of course, with the stock now up more than 50% from its 52-week lows and trading at a forward P/E of 40, much of that growth might already be baked into the price.
