SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- Juniper Networks (JNPR) posted a drop in profit Tuesday, but the networking gear company's beat Wall Street's estimates, triggering a share rally before the close of regular trading.
Juniper shares jumped sharply as the session drew to a close after the company's results apparently were made public ahead of schedule. Trading was halted briefly afterward. The stock closed at $21.65, a gain of 7.3%.
The shares were then up more than 1% in after-hours trading.
Juniper reported a first-quarter profit of $16.27 million, or 3 cents a share, compared with a profit of $129.8 million, or 24 cents a share, for the year-earlier period. Revenue was $1.03 billion, down from $1.10 billion. Adjusted income was 16 cents a share.
Analysts were expecting a profit of 13 cents a share, on revenue of $980.8 million, according to a consensus survey by FactSet Research.
For the current quarter, the company said it expects revenue in the range of $1.03 billion to $1.06 billion, and adjusted profit in the range of 15 cents a share to 17 cents a share.
Analysts were expecting a profit of 20 cents a share, on revenue of $1.05 billion, according to a consensus survey by FactSet Research.
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