VMware Jumps After Shareholder Meeting

SAN FRANCISCO - VMware (VMW Quote) rose sharply Thursday, a day after shareholders had their first public sit-down with executives since the company went public Aug. 14.

The stock was up $4.71, or 7%, to $71.03, shooting well past its Thomson Reuters consensus price target of $65.85 in recent trading. Earlier in the day, shares surpassed their three-month high of $71.50, set May 2.

CEO Diane Greene addressed competition with Microsoft(MSFT Quote) -- the only question posed at the Wednesday shareholder meeting. "They seem fairly serious about copying what we're doing," she said.

"They will hit some of the market because of their broad reach," Greene said. "But we feel very good about our position, because if a customer wants to take full advantage of virtualization, they're going to choose VMware. That's what happens in competitive situations we've been in, where Microsoft is discussed," she added. ...