Earnings, upgrades push Vignette shares to all-time high

Vignette Corp. (Nasdaq: VIGN) shares stormed up 33 13/16, or 28 percent, to an all-time high of 152 7/8 Thursday after it posted a smaller-than-expected loss in its third quarter.

In the quarter, Vignette lost $4.8 million, or 19 cents a share, on sales of $24.2 million.

First Call consensus expected Vignette to lose 21 cents a share in the quarter.

On Thursday, Banc of America Securities bumped the stock from a "buy" to a "strong buy" recommendation while C.E. Unterberg, Towbin reiterated its "strong buy" rating and raised its sales estimates for the remainder of fiscal 1999 and fiscal 2000.

"We give the company high marks for its performance in 2Q99 and we believe VIGN is well on its way to emerging as the industry leader," said C.E. Unterberg, Towbin analyst Tara Long in a prepared release.

The $24.2 million in sales marks a 459 percent explosion above the year-ago period when it lost $6.5 million, or 35 cents a share, on sales of $4.3 million.

"We are extremely pleased with our third quarter financial results and the momentum we are seeing in the marketplace as evidenced by the record 97 new customers we added in the quarter," said CEO Greg Peters in a prepared release.

C.E. Unterberg, Towbin raised its sales estimates for 1999 to $75.8 million from $59.8 million. It also upped its fiscal 2000 estimate from $93.5 million to $134 million.

Vignette is currently rated either a "buy" or "strong buy" recommendation by each of the 11 analysts following the stock.>