Why Investors Are Pumped About These 5 Stocks Today

Barracuda Shares Soar on Earnings Results

Barracuda Networks Inc (NYSE:CUDA), a leading provider of cloud-connected security and data protection solutions, has surged by 15% after the tech company reported fourth quarter of fiscal year 2016 earnings of $0.15 per share on sales of $83.73 million, beating the consensus estimates by $0.06 per share and $2.84 million, respectively. Gross billings for the quarter were $95.8 million, up from $96.1 million for the fourth quarter of fiscal year 2015. Active subscribers in the quarter grew by 14% year-over-year to 278,000, while the company’s dollar-based renewal rate was 96%. For the full 2016 fiscal year, Barracuda reported revenue of $320.2 million, up by 15% year-over-year, gross billings of $377.5 million, up by 4% year-over-year, and a GAAP net loss of $4.4 million. Non-GAAP net income was $22.7 million, or $0.42 per share.

Of the 786 elite funds that we track, 15 of them owned $44.18 million worth of Barracuda Networks Inc (NYSE:CUDA)’s shares on December 31, which accounted for 4.40% of the float. The value of their holdings was nearly double the $22.29 million worth of shares found in 14 funds’ portfolios on September 30.

STMicroelectronics Rises Despite Missing Consensus Estimates

Traders are in a forgiving mood this morning, having bid shares of STMicroelectronics NV (ADR) (NYSE:STM) up to the tune of 10.6% despite the fact that the company missed analysts’ estimates with its first quarter results. For the first three months of the year, STMicroelectronics lost $0.02 per share on sales of $1.61 billion, a slight miss of estimates of flat income and $1.62 billion in revenue. Although STMicroelectronics NV (ADR) (NYSE:STM) sales dropped by 5.3% year-over-year, management is committed to bringing the company back to year-over-year growth this year, with a special focus on smart driving and the internet of things. Management expects second quarter revenue to rise by 5.5% on a sequential basis, plus or minus 3.5 percentage points. Gross margin for the period is expected to come in between 32% and 36%. Jim Simons‘ Renaissance Technologies was a top shareholder of the company at the end of December.

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