Top Performer for Mon: MicroStrategy (MSTR)

MicroStrategy Inc. (MSTR - Snapshot Report) received a brokerage upgrade today, which helped its share price rise approximately 6% during a dreary morning session.

MSTR is a global leader in business intelligence (BI) technology, providing businesses with integrated reporting, analysis and monitoring software.

It is part of the computer-software industry. There are 3 other names from this space on today's 222-stock Zacks #1 Rank List: Cognizant Technology Solutions Corporation (CTSH - Analyst Report), Quest Software, Inc. (QSFT - Snapshot Report) and Sourcefire, Inc. (FIRE - Snapshot Report).

In addition to the upgrade, MSTR has beaten the Zacks Consensus Estimate in 3 of the last 4 quarters. Earnings estimates remain well above levels from 2 months ago.

Volume today is about 220,000 shares, marking a solid advance over the daily average of about 73,000.

Earnings Estimates

There are 7 covering analysts for each this year and next. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for the year ending this December is $3.67. Over the past 2 months, that target has risen 24% from $2.96.

Meanwhile, analysts have created a Zacks Consensus Estimate of $3.79 for the year ending December 2010. In addition to profit growth of 3.3% year over year, the guidance has also improved 21% from $3.12 in 60 days.

Second Quarter Report

In its Jul 30 second-quarter announcement, MSTR said it earned 81 cents per share, which was nearly 29% better than the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 63 cents. The result also marked a solid year-over-year gain from 64 cents.

Revenue came in at $87.8 million, compared to $88.9 million a year earlier.