Documentum shares stuck in reverse

Documentum shares fell another 9 15/16, or 17 percent, to 49 1/8 Monday as investors continue to unload shares of the information management systems provider in the wake of its disappointing second-quarter results.

Documentum (Nasdaq: DCTM) posted a profit of $1.5 million, or 8 cents a share, on sales of $44.7 million.

While First Call Corp. consensus pegged the Pleasanton, Calif. company for a profit of only 6 cents a share, analysts were put off by the company's lackluster licensing revenue in the quarter.

Its shares were trading at a 52-week high of 106 earlier this month.

In the quarter, Documentum posted licensing sales of $25.5 million, roughly $2 million to $3 million below most analysts' estimates.

However, the $44.7 million in sales marked a 53 percent jump from the year-ago quarter.

Mark Perutz, an analyst at Robertson Stephens, on Monday raised his sales estimate from $187 million to $190 million for fiscal 2000 while bumping his fiscal 2001 target from $186 million to $256 million. He also raised his fiscal 2000 and fiscal 2001 earnings estimates to 38 cents a share and 80 cents a share, respectively.

"Revenue from the company's 4i eBusiness Edition Web content management software grew 73 percent sequentially for the quarter," Perutz said in a research note. "We are leaving our operating earnings-per-share estimates unchanged for the remaining quarters of 2000 and 2001, and will look for additional signs of market acceptance and operating stability in the current quarter."

First Call Corp. consensus expects it to earn 11 cents a share in its third quarter and 38 cents a share in the fiscal year.

The stock fell to a 52-week low of 13 3/4 last July.

Six of the seven analysts following the stock rate it either a "buy" or "strong buy."