Perion Network
PERI
reported strong preliminary results for second-quarter 2021 on Jun 28. The advertising technology company now anticipates revenues of $105 million, which suggest 74% growth from the figure reported in the year-ago quarter and 17% growth on a sequential basis.
Moreover, adjusted EBITDA is expected to be $13.5 million, indicating a whopping increase of 440% from the figure reported in the year-ago quarter and 53% growth on a sequential basis.
Notably, in first-quarter 2021, revenues soared 36% year over year to $89.8 million, while adjusted EBITDA surged 41% to $8.8 million.
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for revenues is currently pegged at $95.9 million, suggesting 58.9% growth from the figure reported in the year-ago quarter. The consensus mark for earnings has doubled over the past 60 days to 8 cents per share.
What’s in Store for Perion’s Shares in 2021?
Perion shares surged 16.3% to close at $21.70 on Jun 28. The company has returned 46.5% year to date against the Zacks
Internet Content
industry’s decline of 0.3%.
Perion’s outperformance in the first half of 2021 can be attributed to its strong product portfolio. Advertising revenues in second-quarter 2021 are expected to have benefited from strong video advertising. Moreover, search revenues are also expected to have jumped to hit record level.
Notably, in first-quarter 2021, Display and Social Advertising revenues jumped 61% year over year to $38.1 million. Moreover, Search Advertising and other revenues increased 22% year over year to $51.7 million.
Perion’s top line benefited from recovery in advertiser spending and spike in e-commerce-related ad-spending that offset decline in travel and entertainment.
Ongoing change in consumer behavior, that has fostered increasing usage of e-commerce services, is expected to keep advertiser spending strong in the near term. Perion is also expected to benefit from robust performance of its Search business, driven by strong advertiser demand.
Notably, partnership with
Microsoft’
s
MSFT
search engine Bing has helped Perion gain publisher confidence in its search offerings. Notably, in first-quarter, daily number of searches was 17.7 million compared to 12.2 million in the year-ago quarter. Moreover, the company added 13 new publishers.
These factors bode well for Perion’s prospects for the rest of 2021.
Perion Raises 2021 Outlook
Perion also raised its 2021 guidance based on strong expectations for the second quarter. The company now anticipates revenues between $410 million and $430 million with year-over-year growth of 28%.
Adjusted EBITDA is expected between $49 million and $51 million, indicating year-over-year growth of 52%. Adjusted EBITDA margin is expected to expand 200 basis points (bps) on a year-over-year basis to 12%.
Markedly, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2021 revenues stands at $393.7 million, indicating 20% growth from the figure reported in 2020. Moreover, the consensus mark for earnings is pegged at 44 cents per share, up 25% over the past 60 days.
Zacks Rank & Stocks to Consider
Currently, Perion has a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).
Zoom
ZM
and
Digital Turbine
APPS
are better-ranked stocks in the broader
Computer and Technology
sector. Both sports a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) You can see
the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here
.
Long-term earnings growth rate for Zoom and Digital Turbine is pegged at 15.6% and 50%, respectively.
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