Zoom Video shares gain on strong results, $1.5-billion buyback

investing.com:

(Reuters) -Zoom Video Communications' shares gained more than 7% in early trading on Tuesday after the company delivered better-than-expected results and announced a share buyback of up to $1.5 billion.

At the current price of $67.3, the company added over $1 billion to its market capitalization.

The video-conferencing company was a stock market darling during the pandemic when most businesses adopted virtual setups almost overnight but has struggled to build on since.

The company's shares are down 12.2% this year as of Monday's close, compared with a 6.3% rise in benchmark S&P 500. The stock had gained just over 6% last year.

The «clearly washed-out levels» are proving some support to the stock, analysts at J.P. Morgan said. Zoom (NASDAQ:ZM) posted an adjusted per-share profit of $1.42 on $1.15 billion revenue — both above market expectations — in its fiscal fourth quarter ended January 31.

However, its fiscal year 2025 sales forecast of about $4.60 billion fell short of analysts' average expectation of $4.66 billion, according to LSEG data.

Analysts at J.P. Morgan, which lowered the brokerage's price target by $3 to $80 and maintained a «neutral» rating, said the results do not convey a materially improving business.