Ahead Of The Bell: Blue Coat Upgraded At Merriman

NEW YORK (AP) — Blue Coat Systems Inc. shares climbed in premarket trading Thursday after Merriman Curhan Ford upgraded the stock, predicting a strong fiscal year for the maker of security software and hardware.

Sunnyvale, Calif.-based Blue Coat "has positioned itself for a solid (fiscal 2010) as the company benefits from stable demand for its core technologies," analyst Alex Kurtz wrote in a note to investors Thursday.

Kurtz raised his rating to "Buy" from "Neutral."

The analyst said despite his caution on Blue Coat's $268 million acquisition last year of Packeteer Inc., a bandwidth management company, the deal has made Blue Coat more "relevant among larger enterprises."

Even with the stock up nearly 83 percent year-to-date, Kurtz said the share price "still appears attractive."

Shares jumped 66 cents, or 4.3 percent, to $16.01 ahead of Thursday's market open. The stock has ranged from $6.96 to $19.50 over the past year.