Yes.
This doesn't help:
Verity plunges on downgrades, sector softness
PALO ALTO, Calif., May 15 (Reuters) - Internet search software maker Verity Inc. (NASDAQ:VRTY) on Tuesday dropped more than 22 percent after two analysts downgraded the stock, citing sector-wide weakness and competitors' declining sales.
Shares of Verity -- which sells search, retrieval, and information management software -- fell $4.45 to $15.45 after Wit Soundview and Banc of America Securities downgraded the stock, which hit a year-high of $47 in September.
"Several recent data points, including large revenue shortfalls by Autonomy (AUTN) and Convera (NASDAQ:CNVR), suggest that the environment continues to be difficult for search software companies, and that spending in this category of technology is still vulnerable to cutbacks," Wit Soundview wrote in a client note in which it also changed Verity's rating to hold from strong buy.
Banc of America analyst Greg Vogel lowered the company's fiscal fourth-quarter earnings estimate to 20 cents a share on net revenue of $34 million, down from his previous forecast for earnings of 25 cents on revenue of $41 million.
For fiscal 2002, Vogel cut his forecast to 89 cents a share on net revenue of $159 million, compared with his prior forecast for earnings of $1.17 per share on sales of $207 million.
Analysts consensus estimate calls for the Sunnyvale, California-based company to post a profit of 25 cents a share in its fiscal fourth quarter ending in May, according to Thomson Financial/First Call.
"We believe that the current weakness can be wholly attributable to macro weakening in demand for enterprise software," wrote Vogel, who downgraded the stock to buy from strong buy and said he expects the company to reduce expenses to account for the revenue weakness.
Verity competitors Convera and Hummingbird Communications Ltd. (T.TSE:HUM) were lower on Tuesday while rivals Autonomy and FileNet Corp. (NASDAQ:FILE) ended higher.
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