Siebel Aided by Analysts' Optimism
May 11, 2001
NEW YORK, May 11 (Reuters) - Shares of Siebel Systems Inc. <SEBL> rose 2 percent, a day after its annual meeting with analysts, who issued cautiously positive outlooks, citing new products due out in the second half of this year.
Shares of Siebel gained 87 cents to $42.90 Friday and was one of the most active issues on Nasdaq. Siebel makes software that helps companies manage customers more efficiently by allowing sales forces to retrieve more information and analysis concerning buyers quickly,
Credit Suisse First Boston analyst Brent Thill said he expected its customer relationship management software products soon to command more than 50 percent market share.
"Siebel maintains a 50 percent plus market share in six of its eight core product lines," Thill wrote in a research note. "We expect Siebel will hit 50 percent threshold in marketing (41 percent) and eServices (34 percent) segments over the next two quarters, completing a clean sweep of the CRM landscape."
FAC/Equities analyst Robert Kugel said Siebel's growth would rise mostly on sales of its core products.
"We think that the reason to own the shares is on the strength of the company's core business -- which we forecast to grow at 40 percent long term and rebound quickly with the return of more robust information technology spending," he said, giving a possible fourth-quarter timetable.
Several analysts highlighted Siebel's new Employee Relationship Management (ERM) software program, designed to increase employee efficiently by bringing together information of about the company and its customers.
Several analysts said Siebel's year-end results could beat their estimates, but were keeping an eye on the overall economic environment, which could tamp down results. |
