Computer-aided design software firm Autodesk (ADSK) late Thursday saw its stock surge higher after it beat Wall Street's targets for its fiscal first quarter.
Autodesk reported an adjusted loss of 16 cents a share on revenue of $486 million in its fiscal first quarter ended April 30, compared with a loss of 10 cents a share on sales of $512 million a year earlier. Analysts expected Autodesk to report a loss of 24 cents a share excluding items on sales of $470.4 million as the San Rafael, Calif.-based company continues its business model transition from licensed software to cloud computing services.
During Autodesk's transition, revenue is negatively impacted as more revenue is recognized ratably rather than up front and as new offerings generally have a lower initial purchase price.
Autodesk stock was up 8%, near 104, in after-hours trading on the stock market today. Autodesk hit a record regular-session high of 98.05 on Tuesday. It broke out of a flat base with a buy point of 89.28 on April 24.
For its fiscal second quarter ending July 31, Autodesk expects to lose an adjusted 16 cents a share on sales of $494 million. In the year-earlier period, Autodesk earned 5 cents a share on sales of $551 million.
Analysts were modeling Autodesk to lose 15 cents a share on sales of $488 million.
Autodesk's annualized recurring revenue rose 18% year over year to $1.74 billion in the first quarter because of strong sales of subscription plans.
"Broad-based strength across all subscription types and geographies led to another record quarter for total subscription additions and a fantastic start of the new fiscal year," Amar Hanspal, Autodesk co-CEO and chief product officer, said in a statement. "Customers continue to embrace the subscription model, and we're expanding our market opportunity with continued momentum of our cloud-based offerings, such as BIM 360 and Fusion 360."
Autodesk is a member of IBD's eight-company Computer Software-Design industry group, which currently ranks No. 31 out of 197 industry groups.
Another member of the design software group, Synopsys (SNPS), posted better-than-expected fiscal second-quarter sales and earnings late Wednesday.
At least three investment banks raised their price targets on Synopsys stock on Thursday, including Needham, Pacific Crest and RBC Capital Markets. But shares fell 3.4% to 70.93.
