Parametric Shares Slide On 3Q Sales Outlook

NEW YORK (AP) — Shares of product design company Parametric Technology Corp. lost some ground Tuesday after the company said sales for the quarter will likely come in toward the low end of its previous forecast.

Parametric also said it would buy Relex Software Corp. but did not say how much it will pay for the privately held Greensburg, Pa. company, which has 50 employees and provides software for improving product safety and reliability.

Shares slid 26 cents, or 2.2 percent, to $11.59 in afternoon trading.

Addressing investors and analysts at a conference in Orlando, Fla., Parametric said Monday that sales will be at the low end of a range between $220 million and $230 million for its fiscal third quarter because of weakness in its services and maintenance businesses.

Analysts were expecting $227 million, according to a Thomson Reuters survey.

The Needham, Mass.-based company also said it expects the growth of its operating margin to be "modest" over the next few years as it concentrates on boosting revenue and expanding into new markets with more research and development spending.

Analysts reacted positively to the company's focus on long term growth.

"While we have pared back our near term estimates yet again, we are incrementally more optimistic about the long term trends behind the (company's) model and management's new product initiatives," Thomas Weisel analyst Blair Abernethy told investors in a note Monday.

Abernethy reiterated an "Overweight" rating on shares.