Sourcefire Surges on Q3 Results

Shares of Sourcefire

are surging on Thursday after the company released strong third-quarter earnings results. The stock opened the session higher at $46.98 and has continued to rise. In late afternoon trade, FIRE was up around 13 percent to $48.28. Shares have now risen nearly 50 percent in 2012, although they remain off of their best levels. Sourcefire is an example of a company that is showing strong secular growth despite a tepid economy. Its best days have come after the financial crisis when the stock has really taken off. The company, which is based in Columbia, Maryland, is engaged in the cybersecurity technology market. Sourcefire provides a portfolio of solutions that enables commercial enterprises and government agencies worldwide to manage and minimize cybersecurity risks. Over the last 5 years, the stock has risen better than 400 percent, and FIRE currently has a market-cap of $1.45 billion. The performance of the stock price has been driven by rapidly rising revenue at the company. Annual revenues have grown from a little less than $76 million in 2008 to more than $165 million at the end of 2011. The big move in the stock on Thursday comes on the heels of another quarterly report showing strong growth in Sourcefire's business. The company reported third-quarter net income of $1.2 million or $0.04 per share, compared to $2 million or $0.07 per share, in the year ago period. On an adjusted basis, net income was $7.6 million or $0.25 per share. This came in ahead of Wall Street consensus earnings estimates of $0.21 per share. Revenue in the period was $58.8 million versus $45.2 million in last year's third-quarter. This also beat Wall Street consensus revenue expectations of $55.78 million. Looking ahead to the fourth-quarter, the company said that it expects adjusted net income between $0.27 to $0.29 on revenue of $62 million to $64 million. Currently, analysts anticipate that FIRE will report EPS of $0.28 on revenue of $61.73 million in the fourth-quarter. For fiscal 2012, the company expects adjusted net income between $0.80 to $0.82 per share on revenue of $217.7 million to $219.7 million. This compares to current analysts' consensus of $0.76 per share on revenues of $214.15 million.