Shares in Nutanix, a maker of cloud-computing network management software, launched higher Friday as fiscal fourth-quarter earnings for NTNX stock came out well ahead of estimates.
Reporting after the close Thursday, Nutanix said earnings were 24 cents a share versus a 17-cent loss a year earlier. That topped estimates for 16-cent profit. Revenue rose 28% to $494 million, ahead of views for $475 million.
For fiscal 2024, the company forecast revenue of $2.1 billion vs. estimates of $2.07 billion. Nutanix also announced a $350 million share repurchase authorization.
On the stock market today, NTNX stock soared by 12.2% to close at 34.90, putting it in a buy zone. Nutanix stock holds an entry point of 33.73. Heading into the Nutanix earnings report, shares had climbed 19% thus far this year.
NTNX Stock: Key Metric Comes In Strong
Also giving a boost to NTNX stock were contract renewals, which came in stronger than expected.
"ACV (annual contract value) billings, which is the primary leading indicator for Nutanix, exceeded consensus and guidance by 17 points of growth, marking the highest beat versus guide since the company started guiding on this metric," JPMorgan analyst Pinjalim Bora said in a note to clients.
At RBC Capital, analyst Matthew Hedberg said in his note: "Execution remains impressive while customers increasingly look to the company to better navigate a hybrid, multi-cloud world."
He added: "Encouragingly, demand remains steady as customers continue to prioritize digital transformation and infrastructure modernization initiatives while looking to optimize total cost of ownership."
Nutanix competitors include VMware, Hewlett Packard Enterprise and Dell Technologies. The company announced a marketing partnership earlier this week with Cisco Systems.
The company plans to host a day for NTNX stock analysts on Sept. 26.
Follow Reinhardt Krause on Twitter @reinhardtk_tech for updates on 5G wireless, artificial intelligence, cybersecurity and cloud computing.
