Smith Micro shares surge after better-than-expected 4th-quarter profit
By APThursday, February 25, 2010
Smith Micro shares soar after solid 4Q results
NEW YORK — Shares of Smith Micro Software Inc. surged Thursday after the company posted fourth-quarter earnings above Wall Street’s expectations.
The company, which makes software for mobile devices, posted adjusted earnings of 26 cents per share for the quarter, well above the 16 cents per share that analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expected.
Smith Micro’s shares rose $1.45, or 19 percent, to $9.18 in afternoon trading. The stock has traded between $3.64 and $12.87 in the last 52 weeks.
Lawrence M. Harris, an analyst with CL King & Associates, said the company’s better-than-expected profit was due largely to an income tax credit. He kept a “Neutral” rating on the stock.
Wedbush Morgan analyst Scott P. Sutherland also kept a “Neutral” rating on the stock.
Sutherland also raised his 2010 estimates slightly, “based upon guidance and our view that management is starting to be somewhat conservative after the slight miss in 2009.”
Sutherland now expects earnings of 73 cents per share, up from his earlier estimate of 58 cents. Analysts, on average, forecast profit of 72 cents per share for 2010.
