Citrix Sytems shares rise on strong 1st-qtr results

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Thu Apr 30, 2009 6:09pm BST

April 30 (Reuters) - Shares of Citrix Systems Inc (CTXS.O) rose more than 14 percent on Thursday, as investors cheered the company's strong quarterly results and cost cutting efforts, prompting at least 5 brokerages to hike their price targets on the stock.

In a research note to clients, Citigroup said Citrix was hopeful that the domestic market had normalized and visibility should improve going forward, albeit at a lower level of demand.

The company, which develops virtualization software that allows a single computer to act like many "virtual" machines, on Wednesday posted a quarterly profit that beat estimates by a cent, while revenue topped market expectations by $10 million. [nBNG384706]

"Investors should be encouraged by the company's March quarter, as CTXS demonstrated nice execution and continuing cost controls," FBR Capital Markets said.

However, FBR remained cautious on Citrix's shares at current levels, saying, "Although we remain fans of the Citrix story and believe the company is well positioned for long-term growth, we remain on the sidelines as the CTXS ship could be steering through some very rough waters over the next few quarters."

On Wednesday, Citrix said it expects second-quarter revenue to be flat to slightly down.

Shares of the Fort Lauderdale, Florida-based company were up more than 10 percent at $28.32 in afternoon trade on Nasdaq. They touche a high of $29.40 earlier in the session.

The following table lists the brokerages and their price-target changes and rating on the company:

BROKERAGE RATING PRICE TARGET

New Old

Citigroup Hold $27 $25

RBC Capital Markets Sector Perform $30 $23

FBR Capital Markets Market Perform $26 $22

Jefferies & Co Hold $25 $20

Canaccord Adams Hold $26 $24

(Reporting by Sayantani Ghosh in Bangalore; Editing by Anne Pallivathuckal, Himani Sarkar)

((sayantani.ghosh@thomsonreuters.com; within U.S. +1 646 223 8780; outside U.S. +91 80 4135 5800; Reuters Messaging: sayantani.ghosh.reuters.com@reuters.net)) Keywords: CITRIXSYSTEMS/SHARES

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