SeeBeyond jumps on outlook, upgrades

SeeBeyond shares hustled up $1.38, or 18 percent, to $8.88 Tuesday, one day after it raised its sales and earnings estimates for the fourth quarter and fiscal 2001.

The B2B software developer said it expects fourth-quarter sales of between $40 million to $42 million, well above the $36 million expected by most analysts.

It’s also predicting a loss of between 6 cents to 8 cents a share in the quarter, slightly better than the 10-cent-a-share loss currently predicted by a First Call Corp. consensus.

On Tuesday, Wit SoundView and Frost Securities both upgraded the stock from "buy" ratings to "strong buy" recommendations.

Company officials said licensing sales in the fourth quarter will come in between $26 million to $27 million in the quarter, higher than the $21 million it previously expected.

SeeBeyond also raised its sales forecast for the 2001 fiscal year to $200-$210 million, up from a previous forecast of $175-$180 million and said it now expects to break even in the second quarter of 2001, earlier than had been projected.

Last quarter, it lost $9.9 million, or 14 cents a share, on sales of $31.3 million.

i2 Technologies (Nasdaq: ITWO) also raised estimates after the bell, projecting better sales and earning in its fourth quarter.

SeeBeyond shares raced up to a 52-week high of $34.88 in June before sliding to a low of $7 in December.

All three analysts following the stock maintain “buy” recommendations.

Analysts are forecasting a loss of 20 cents a share in fiscal 2001.