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 Neustar (NYSE: NSR) jumped nearly 12% early Thursday, then settled to close up around 9% after the real-time information analytics specialist turned in better-than-expected second-quarter results.
So what: Quarterly revenue rose 8% year over year, to $237.5 million, which translated to a 12% boost in adjusted net income per share, to $0.95. Analysts, on average, were modeling adjusted net income of just $0.90 per share on sales of $233.1 million.
In addition, Neustar reaffirmed its full-year 2014 guidance for revenue of $945 million to $970 million, and adjusted net income per share of $3.88 to $4.05. While that revenue number is roughly inline with Wall Street's expectations, Neustar's expected 2014 earnings are well ahead of analysts' estimates for $3.74 per share.
Now what: Despite Neustar's sluggish top-line growth, I think shares look attractive even ,after today's pop, trading below eight times next year's expected earnings. As analysts have time to fully digest today's report, I wouldn't be surprised if Neustar stock continues to reward patient shareholders going forward.
