(By R.Chandrasekaran) Internet Information provider Ancestry.com (Nasdaq:
ACOM), and toning shoe maker Skechers' (NYSE: SKX) shares are trading up on upbeat outlooks and better than estimated quarterly numbers. Meanwhile, management services provider Huron Consulting Group (Nassdaq:
HURN) and tax preparer H&R Block (NYSE:
HRB) shares are trading down on downbeat forecasts.
Ancestry.com guided second quarter revenue between $115 and $117 million, which is ahead of Street analysts' estimations of $107.43 million. The company is projecting subscribers of 1.965 – 1.98 million for the same period.
Similarly for the year 2012, the company is estimating to generate revenues of $460 - $470 million, the mid-range is higher than street consensus of $460.98 million.
In the first quarter, Acenstory.com earned a profit of $13.55 million, up 51 percent from $8.97 million, and earnings surged 66.67 percent to 30 cents a share from 18 cents a share in the year-ago quarter. Total revenues were 16.67 percent higher at $108.54 million than the previous year quarter's $91.03 million.
The company's results benefited from 390K gross subscriber additions, 16 percent growth in subscribers, a 2.44 percent rise in per subscriber average monthly revenue, and a sequential drop in subscriber acquisition cost to $88.11 from $107.88 in the fourth quarter.
Additionally, Ancestory.com has also agreed to buy Archieves.com, a family history web portal of Inflection, for about $100 million. Earnings, outlook, and the acquisition news have sent Ancestry.com's price by more than 10% today.
Significantly, no analyst recommends the stock for Sell. Nine analysts have a Buy or Strong Buy rating on Ancestry.com shares, while one analyst recommends a Hold. For the 9 brokerages following ACOM, the highest and lowest price targets for Ancestry.com are $45.00 and $31.00 respectively. In the 52-week period, shares of the company hit a high of $45.79 and a low of $20.67.
Skechers is another company to witness positive movement after better than expected first quarter numbers and a favorable outlook. The company indicated that it could return to profit mode during the later half of 2012. The optimism is based on new products and higher price realization which could turn the tide around for profitability. The company suffered a loss in three out of its last four quarters.
In the first quarter, Skechers suffered a loss of $3.67 million or 7 cents loss a share versus a profit of $12.15 million or 24 cents a share in the year-ago quarter.