Topic: Growth Stocks

Wall Street Stock Forecaster Hotline – Friday, February 6, 2015

Article Excerpt

SYMANTEC CORP., $24.77, Nasdaq symbol SYMC, reported better-than-expected earnings this week. The company sells computer-security technology, including antivirus and email-filtering software, to businesses and consumers. In its fiscal 2015 third quarter, which ended January 2, 2015, Symantec earned $367 million, unchanged from a year earlier. However, per-share earnings rose 1.9%, to $0.53 from $0.52, on fewer shares outstanding. That beat the consensus forecast of $0.48. Revenue declined 3.9%, to $1.64 billion from $1.71 billion, missing the consensus estimate of $1.68 billion. However, if you disregard the negative impact of the high U.S. dollar on Symantec’s overseas sales, revenue was flat. The company recently cancelled some unprofitable deals to preinstall software on new computers. That has hurt its revenue. Its plan to simplify its product lines and sell software as a subscription instead of a one-time purchase has also dampened its growth. However, Symantec is benefiting from its restructuring, which includes job cuts. Its gross profit margin (gross profits as a percentage of revenue) improved to…