Monday, March 11, 2013

Why Nuance Communications Shares Got Destroyed

Although we don't believe in timing the market or panicking over market movements, we do like to keep an eye on big changes -- just in case they're material to our investing thesis.

What: Shares of voice specialist Nuance Communications (NASDAQ: NUAN  ) got destroyed today, down by as much as 19%, after the company reported earnings with a worse-than-expected outlook.

So what: Adjusted revenue in the quarter was $492.4 million, resulting in adjusted earnings per share of $0.35. Those figures were just about what analysts were expecting, but the bottom line was a penny per share shy. That slight miss wasn't the real cause for concern, though.

Now what: Guidance was the real culprit. Nuance reduced its outlook for full-year adjusted earnings per share, and now expects the bottom line to come in at $1.76 to $1.87, down from its prior range of $1.84 to $1.94 per share, and also lower than the consensus estimate of $1.89 per share. Analysts are now concerned that the company may miss on its revenue target for the year. Don't miss fellow Fool Alex Planes' take here.

Interested in more info on Nuance Communications? Add it to your watchlist by clicking here.

Speech recognition is yet another nascent technology set to explode with the rise of tablets and smartphones, and no company is better poised to benefit from this coming boom than Nuance Communications. However, this growth story doesn't come without risks, too. The Motley Fool recently published a premium research report to break down what investors interested in Nuance absolutely have to understand before investing, so click here now to grab your copy today.

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