Harbinger rallies on upgrade, earnings

Harbinger Corp. (Nasdaq: HRBC) shot up 4 3/8, or 19 percent, to 27 3/8 Thursday after the business-to-business software developer met Street estimates in its fourth quarter, earning in $2.7 million, or 7 cents a share, on sales of $42.4 million.

Analysts raised their collective estimate to 7 cents a share earlier this quarter after Harbinger pre-announced better-than-expected sales.

On Thursday, Prudential Securities raised the stock from an "accumulate" rating to a "strong buy."

The $42.4 million in sales marks a 16 percent improvement from the year-ago period when it earned $3.3 million, or 8 cents a share, on sales of $36.5 million.

For the year, Harbinger pulled in $10.7 million, or 26 cents a share, on sales of $108.7 million compared to a profit of $15.3 million, or 36 cents a share, on sales of $88 million in fiscal 1998.

"We completed another record quarter and we are beginning to see the results of a full-year's focus on our key operational initiatives," said CEO James Travers in a prepared release.

Harbinger shares rallied up to a 52-week high of 34 in December after bottoming out at 5 3/4 in March.

First Call consensus expects it to earn 11 cents a share in fiscal 2000.