Rightnow shares gain after 1Q results beat estimates

NEW YORK—Shares of Rightnow Technologies Inc. gained sharply on Thursday after the customer support software maker said its first-quarter loss narrowed sharply, beating Wall Street estimates.

Roth Capital Partners analyst Nathan Schneiderman called the stock "screaming cheap" and raised his forecasts.

"We think that the worst is over for Rightnow," Schneiderman said. "Look for significantly better results in the second half and in 2009."

Schneiderman reiterated his "Buy" rating and narrowed his 2008 loss forecast to 9 cents per share from 13 cents per share.

Separately, Canaccord Adams analyst Richard K. Baldry also reiterated his "Buy" rating. He also expressed surprise at the company's higher revenue, and said he hopes management institutes an "aggressive" stock buyback program.

Baldry expects Rightnow shares to double to $24.

Late Wednesday, Rightnow said its first-quarter loss shrunk to $3.4 million, or 10 cents per share, from a $6 million, or 18 cents per share. The company attributed the improvement to a slew of new customers.

When adjusted for stock-based compensation charges, the company said it lost 6 cents per share, down from a loss of 14 cents per share a year ago.

Rightnow said its revenue grew 28 percent to $32.9 million from $25.7 million in the year-ago quarter.

Analysts polled by Thomson Financial expected a loss of 10 cents per share. Such estimates typically exclude one-time charges.

For all of 2008, the company said it expects a loss between 25 cents per share and 32 cents per share on revenues between $136 million and $141 million.

Wall Street expects a loss of 13 cents per share on revenues of $137.8 million.

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