A dead thread I love it. Bask in the following.
DENDRITE INTERNATIONAL (DRTE) 32 1/8 +2 1/4. Dendrite's 1st qtr earnings report is an example of how the market should actually function. The company delivered better-than-expected earnings, issued a forecst for even stronger full year results, and the stock was rewarded an "appropriate" increase in market-cap. For the 1st qtr ending March 31, the supplier of enterprise-wide sales force effectiveness solutions for the pharmaceutical industry reported that it pulled itself from under $0.02 a share in red ink from the year-ago quarter to report a profit of $0.15 a share for the latest period. The bottom-line figure came in 3 cents, or 25%, above the First Call mean estimate of three analysts surveyed. The company also logged record revenues of $22.6 million, up 36% from the year-ago period. At the same time, the company announced it would be increasing its full-year profit goals to $0.83 to $0.85 a share, which is 6.4% to 9% above the the current First Call mean estimate of $0.78 a share. Following the release of strong Q1 results and the company's indication of robust full year prospects, BA Robertson Stephens stepped in with an increase in earnings estimates and a reiteration of its 9-12 month price target of $60 a share, fully 87% above the stock's current price. According to the firm, DRTE's revenues came in about $676,000 above forecast, gross margin rose to 57.7% from 45% vs its estimate of 53.6%, and Days Sales Outstanding (DSOs) dropped another 13 days to 83, "as DRTE's financials became impeccable." The firm raises its FY98 earnings forecast by 6 cents to $0.85 (P/E 38) and its FY99 forecast by 9 cents to $1.10 (P/E 29). With a Price-Earnings/Growth (PEG) of 0.83 (based on FY99 estimate), DRTE is one of the few high-octane software stocks that actually trades at a discount to its growth rate.
Greg |
