Home and business security services firm Alarm.com delivered a beat-and-raise earnings report for the fourth quarter. ALRM stock popped Friday on the news.
The Tysons, Va.-based company late Thursday said it earned an adjusted 62 cents a share on sales of $226.2 million in the December quarter. Wall Street had been expecting earnings of 47 cents a share on sales of $224.9 million.
On a year-over-year basis, Alarm's earnings increased 17% while sales climbed 9% in the fourth quarter. That's an acceleration over the third quarter when earnings rose 2% and sales advanced 3%.
For the year ahead, Alarm predicted adjusted earnings of $2.12 a share on sales of $923 million. That's based on the midpoint of its outlook. Analysts were looking for earnings of $2.09 a share on sales of $922.2 million. In 2023, Alarm earned an adjusted $2.07 a share, up 6%, on sales of $881.7 million, up 5%.
ALRM Stock Is A Recent Breakout
On the stock market today, ALRM stock jumped 2.7% to close at 71.88.
With the move higher, ALRM stock is now extended beyond the 5% buy zone of its recent breakout. Alarm shares surged out of a flat base at a buy point of 67.02 on Feb. 12, according to IBD MarketSmith charts.
"During the year, we drove growth on a global basis through our increasingly diverse suite of connected property solutions and delivered best-in-class technology and support for our service provider partners," Chief Executive Steve Trundle said in a news release. "The Alarm.com team also continued to efficiently execute our long-term strategy for expanding our market opportunities through our growth initiatives."
Alarm.com offers security cameras, digital door locks and other gear connected to cloud-based monitoring software. With its platform, users can manage and control their property from anywhere.
Alarm.com Stock Gets Price-Target Hikes
At least three Wall Street firms raised their price targets on ALRM stock after the earnings report.
Raymond James analyst Adam Tindle reiterated his strong buy rating on ALRM stock and upped his price target to 85 from 70.
"The business is quietly becoming more diversified as new growth areas are approaching one-third of mix and growing faster than the core," Tindle said in a client note.
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