Citrix Shares Surge On 1Q Results

NEW YORK (AP) — Shares of Citrix Systems Inc. surged Thursday after the company's first-quarter results outstripped Wall Street predictions.

The stock climbed $2.78, or 11 percent, to $28.43 in afternoon trading.

Fort Lauderdale, Fla.-based Citrix, which makes business software and machinery for remotely managing applications, saw restructuring charges and other one-time costs cut its first-quarter profit by 80 percent year-over-year.

But adjusted earnings of 32 cents per share topped the average forecast by a penny. Sales of $369 million came in nearly $10 million ahead of estimates.

Despite a tough economy, "Citrix posted solid first-quarter results ... driven primarily by better-than-expected application networking revenue and technical services," William Blair & Co. analyst Bhavan Suri told clients in a note Thursday.

Suri reiterated an "Outperform" rating on the stock, telling investors, "We believe that the company will continue to outperform the broader technology market."

Jefferies & Co. analyst Katherine Egbert raised her price target for the stock to $25 from $20. She told investors in a client note that earnings and sales appear to be near a bottom but cautioned that the company's "murky outlook" and slow IT spending mean Citrix "is not out of the woods yet."

The company said Wednesday it expects second-quarter sales to remain flat or slightly below the $377 million it reported a year ago. But it declined to give specific figures because of "the volatility of market conditions in the foreseeable future."

Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters were looking for $381 million, on average.