What's up with Novell?
Novell's stock dropped 16 percent in morning trading Friday after the server software company reported its revenue declined 5 percent in its most recent quarter.
The Waltham, Mass.-based company on Thursday reported that revenue dropped to $274 million in the quarter ended Jan. 31, down from $290 million the year earlier. Net income was $2 million, or break-even in terms of cents per share, using Generally Accepted Accounting Principles. With non-GAAP accounting, net income was $18 million, or 4 cents per share.
Novell shares dropped $1.49, or 16 percent, to $8.04 in morning trading.
Financial results indicate that Novell is losing market share to top Linux seller Red Hat, said First Albany analyst Mark Murphy. At the same time, Novell's older NetWare business is declining. He downgraded the stock from "neutral" to "underperform."