Symantec Erases Doubts With Solid Quarter

Symantec stock surged $1.83, or 10.6%, to $19.05 in recent trading.

Discounting Thursday's spike from its latest earnings report, Symantec's stock had been up 7.2% since the beginning of the year, while McAfee is down 10.2%. Competitor Check Point Software Technology(CHKP Quote - Cramer on CHKP - Stock Picks) gained 8%. The Nasdaq composite index declined 7.5% during the same period.

Symantec reported net income for the quarter rose to $186 million from $61 million, the year before. Excluding items, Symantec reported EPS of 36 cents vs. 24 cents a year ago and was 2 cents higher than analysts' estimates of 34 cents. Revenue rose to $1.54 billion from $1.36 billion the earlier quarter and was slightly higher with analysts' expectations of $1.53 billion.

Still, Symantec posted only 5.5% bookings growth for the March quarter compared to 15.2% growth in the previous quarter and 5.8% in the September 2007 quarter, estimates Kevin Buttigieg, an analyst with the Stanford Group, who has a hold rating on the stock.

For the June 2008 quarter, the Cupertino, Calif.-based company guided revenue in the range of $1.55 billion and $1.59 billion. Excluding charges, earnings are expected to range between 34 cents and 36 cents a share. Analysts are expecting earnings of 31 cents a share on revenue of $1.5 billion.

The strong guidance indicates the company is feeling confident about its future, says James Beer, chief financial officer for Symantec.

"We have a good product set, our pipeline of business is the strongest it has been in number of years and we are in a very robust market," he says.

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