Patience has apparently prevailed for Quest Software (QSFT) shareholders, as Dell (DELL)
has publicly announced a deal to acquire the enterprise software
company for $28 per share in cash. While Dell has long been rumored as
the lead suitor for the company (apart from original bidder Insight
Venture Partners), this is the first public acknowledgment from Dell.
Click here for more:
Dells Wins Quest; Now For The Hard Part
Showing posts with label Quest Software. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Quest Software. Show all posts
Monday, July 2, 2012
Thursday, June 28, 2012
Investopedia: Patience Is Proving Rewarding For Quest Shareholders
Lower-growth tech investments can be tricky, as the Street is often slow to reward consistent cash flow growth in favor of impressive revenue growth. In the case of Quest Software (Nasdaq:QSFT), though, patience is showing that value almost always eventually gets its due recognition.
A Low-Key Bidding War
Quest Software has been a rumored acquisition target for quite some time, as the company would offer an acquirer a platform-neutral array of software offerings in database development, identity management, performance monitoring and data protection. Although definitely not a household name, Quest has trafficked in shortfalls at Microsoft (Nasdaq:MSFT), IBM (NYSE:IBM) and Oracle (Nasdaq:ORCL) to build simpler-to-use solutions that has given it a large and diverse customer base.
Please read the full article here:
http://stocks.investopedia.
A Low-Key Bidding War
Quest Software has been a rumored acquisition target for quite some time, as the company would offer an acquirer a platform-neutral array of software offerings in database development, identity management, performance monitoring and data protection. Although definitely not a household name, Quest has trafficked in shortfalls at Microsoft (Nasdaq:MSFT), IBM (NYSE:IBM) and Oracle (Nasdaq:ORCL) to build simpler-to-use solutions that has given it a large and diverse customer base.
Please read the full article here:
http://stocks.investopedia.
Friday, March 9, 2012
Seeking Alpha: Approaching The End Of The Quest
When I bought Quest Software (QSFT) in mid-2010, it was with the idea that the company was a solid acquisition play but had enough going on in its business that it would be a worthwhile investment on a stand-alone basis. With Friday's announcement that the company has accepted a buyout offer from Insight Venture Partners, it looks like this story has found its closure.
The Deal
Quest announced that it reached an agreement with Insight Venture Partners whereby this private equity firm will take the company private in a $2 billion deal. That price translates into $23 per share for Quest shareholders, or about a 19% premium to Thursday's (March 8) close.
This deal includes a pretty generous go-shop window (60 days) for Quest, where management can pursue and entertain competing offerings. Should a better deal emerge, Quest would owe only a small $4 million break-up fee.
Read more here:
Approaching The End Of The Quest
The Deal
Quest announced that it reached an agreement with Insight Venture Partners whereby this private equity firm will take the company private in a $2 billion deal. That price translates into $23 per share for Quest shareholders, or about a 19% premium to Thursday's (March 8) close.
This deal includes a pretty generous go-shop window (60 days) for Quest, where management can pursue and entertain competing offerings. Should a better deal emerge, Quest would owe only a small $4 million break-up fee.
Read more here:
Approaching The End Of The Quest
Wednesday, February 15, 2012
Seeking Alpha: Quest Software - So Far, So-So
Investing in low-growth value-priced software stocks is a little like digging for gold with a Nerf shovel - you can get there eventually, but it's going to take a lot of patience. Clearly Wall Street did not care for the earnings report of Quest Software (QSFT), nor the new of an unexpected change in CEO, but underlying results were not so bad and patience could yet pay off for investors.
Fourth-Quarter Results Mostly Better Than They Seem
Quest reported that revenue rose about 13%, more or less meeting the average analyst guess. License revenue was a little soft, growing 8% on a reported basis, but growing not at all on an organic basis and missing the average estimate. Service revenue was a little better with 18% reported growth and 6% organic growth, but the beat versus expectations was modest.
Read the full piece here:
Quest Software - So Far, So-So
Fourth-Quarter Results Mostly Better Than They Seem
Quest reported that revenue rose about 13%, more or less meeting the average analyst guess. License revenue was a little soft, growing 8% on a reported basis, but growing not at all on an organic basis and missing the average estimate. Service revenue was a little better with 18% reported growth and 6% organic growth, but the beat versus expectations was modest.
Read the full piece here:
Quest Software - So Far, So-So
Tuesday, January 3, 2012
Seeking Alpha: Can Quest Find Success In Simplicity?
Right off the bat, it would seem that Quest Software (QSFT) has two red marks against it. First, the company looks to provide simpler solutions in a world where vendors boast increasingly complex alternatives. Second, Quest is mostly a value play, and lower-growth value plays don't often work so well in the tech stock world. Nevertheless, with such an undemanding valuation, Quest may be worth a look as an undervalued play in a software sector where valuations have been quite high in many cases.
Trying To Patch Big Vendor Gaps
Quest has the unenviable task of trying to make its bones (and not get squashed) amidst the likes of Oracle (ORCL), IBM (IBM), VMware (VMW), BMC (BMC), and CA (CA). The idea here is that these companies often offer complex solutions that are actually difficult for IT personnel to implement and maintain – particularly at smaller concerns that can't throw an army of employees at every IT problem.
Quest steps in with simple-to-use solutions and products that help run heterogeneous and cobbled-together IT environments. The company's development tools, for instance, allow IT workers to manage heterogeneous database environments and improve the overall quality and performance. Elsewhere, the company's administration tools can make infrastructures more efficient and can create private clouds.
Please read more here:
Can Quest Find Success In Simplicity?
Trying To Patch Big Vendor Gaps
Quest has the unenviable task of trying to make its bones (and not get squashed) amidst the likes of Oracle (ORCL), IBM (IBM), VMware (VMW), BMC (BMC), and CA (CA). The idea here is that these companies often offer complex solutions that are actually difficult for IT personnel to implement and maintain – particularly at smaller concerns that can't throw an army of employees at every IT problem.
Quest steps in with simple-to-use solutions and products that help run heterogeneous and cobbled-together IT environments. The company's development tools, for instance, allow IT workers to manage heterogeneous database environments and improve the overall quality and performance. Elsewhere, the company's administration tools can make infrastructures more efficient and can create private clouds.
Please read more here:
Can Quest Find Success In Simplicity?
Tuesday, July 26, 2011
FYI to readers
There's a bit of a backlog at Investopedia and some technical glitches as well.
Rest assured I'm still here cranking away and I'm sure the pieces will get up before long.
In the meantime, between Accuray (Nasdaq: ARAY), Quest (Nasdaq: QSFT), 3M (NYSE: MMM), and Commercial Vehicle (Nasdaq: CVGI) I think I've had plenty more "fun" than I wanted this earnings release cycle...
Disclosure: I own all of the mentioned stocks
Rest assured I'm still here cranking away and I'm sure the pieces will get up before long.
In the meantime, between Accuray (Nasdaq: ARAY), Quest (Nasdaq: QSFT), 3M (NYSE: MMM), and Commercial Vehicle (Nasdaq: CVGI) I think I've had plenty more "fun" than I wanted this earnings release cycle...
Disclosure: I own all of the mentioned stocks
Friday, July 30, 2010
Quest Software (Insert Monty Python Joke Here)
When I decided to push a sizable chunk of my cash into the market a few months ago, I basically walked right into a buzzsaw (thank you, Monsanto (NYSE: MON)!). One of the stocks I picked up then that *has* worked is Quest Software (Nasdaq: QSFT) and last night's earnings report has me feeling a bit happier than usual going into the weekend.
Revenue in the second quarter rose about 13% to $186M. That is not an eye-popping result, but it was almost 10% better than the average guess on the Street. Quest also produced about 350 basis points of operating margin improvement (non-GAAP), and a four-cent beat on EPS.
Digging a bit into the details, license revenue jumped 25% from last year, and I am glad to see this. License revenue growth has been a bit sluggish of late, and it is hard for me to see how the stock goes higher without a revival in this line-item.
Service revenue rose 6% year over year, while maintenance revenue rose 4%. I would like to see a better performance here, but I am not going to worry about it just yet.
The company's Windows business, its largest segment, was also its best grower. Although the database business did show the same magnitude of growth, at least it is growing again. The company's virtualization business did pretty well this period, but at about 10% of the total revenue base it does not really move the needle yet.
Along with earnings, the company announced the acquisition of Surgient - a company that specializes in the deployment and management of secure cloud infrastructure platforms. Given that this is basically "tools for cloud", it makes sense that Quest would be interested. As the IT world moves more and more towards the cloud approach, Quest is going to need to have tools available if it wants to maintain its growth prospects.
All in all, not much changes with this quarter, other than that I feel a little more comfortable with the "return to growth" scenario that motivated my initial purchase of the shares. The risks here are likewise still the same - that large vendors like Microsoft (Nasdaq: MSFT), IBM (NYSE: IBM), and Oracle (Nasdaq: ORCL) will squeeze Quest out of the market by incorporating more free tools into their products, and/or that others like BMC (NYSE: BMC) and CA (NYSE: CA) will basically just out-compete Quest.
Of course, counter-balancing that is the possibility of Quest getting a "if you can't beat them, buy them" bid.
I am still long Quest and I still think the shares are worth upwards of $26 a share. Please note, though, that my history in software stocks is gruesome - I bought Quest mostly as an experiment in a new way of approaching and analyzing the sector, so we will see how that works out.
Disclosure - I own shares of Monsanto and Quest Software
Revenue in the second quarter rose about 13% to $186M. That is not an eye-popping result, but it was almost 10% better than the average guess on the Street. Quest also produced about 350 basis points of operating margin improvement (non-GAAP), and a four-cent beat on EPS.
Digging a bit into the details, license revenue jumped 25% from last year, and I am glad to see this. License revenue growth has been a bit sluggish of late, and it is hard for me to see how the stock goes higher without a revival in this line-item.
Service revenue rose 6% year over year, while maintenance revenue rose 4%. I would like to see a better performance here, but I am not going to worry about it just yet.
The company's Windows business, its largest segment, was also its best grower. Although the database business did show the same magnitude of growth, at least it is growing again. The company's virtualization business did pretty well this period, but at about 10% of the total revenue base it does not really move the needle yet.
Along with earnings, the company announced the acquisition of Surgient - a company that specializes in the deployment and management of secure cloud infrastructure platforms. Given that this is basically "tools for cloud", it makes sense that Quest would be interested. As the IT world moves more and more towards the cloud approach, Quest is going to need to have tools available if it wants to maintain its growth prospects.
All in all, not much changes with this quarter, other than that I feel a little more comfortable with the "return to growth" scenario that motivated my initial purchase of the shares. The risks here are likewise still the same - that large vendors like Microsoft (Nasdaq: MSFT), IBM (NYSE: IBM), and Oracle (Nasdaq: ORCL) will squeeze Quest out of the market by incorporating more free tools into their products, and/or that others like BMC (NYSE: BMC) and CA (NYSE: CA) will basically just out-compete Quest.
Of course, counter-balancing that is the possibility of Quest getting a "if you can't beat them, buy them" bid.
I am still long Quest and I still think the shares are worth upwards of $26 a share. Please note, though, that my history in software stocks is gruesome - I bought Quest mostly as an experiment in a new way of approaching and analyzing the sector, so we will see how that works out.
Disclosure - I own shares of Monsanto and Quest Software
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