Actuate rides upgrade to all-time high

Shares of Actuate Corp. (Nasdaq: ACTU) moved up 5 3/8, or 19 percent, to an all-time high of 33 1/4 Monday after Credit Suisse First Boston raised the stock from a "buy" to a "strong buy" recommendation.

The software developer, which recently changed its name from Actuate Software Corp., reported a profit of $846,000, or 6 cents a share, on sales of $8.3 million.

In the past three years, Actuate's sales have improved 722 percent, making it the fastest-growing public software company in Silicon Valley.

Its shares were trading at 6 1/4 in October.

First Call consensus expects it to earn 4 cents a share in its second quarter and 23 cents a share in the fiscal year.

All three analysts following the stock rate it either a "buy" or "strong buy.">