Wind River Looking For The “Breakout Quarter”

Shares of Wind River (WIND), a specialist in “device software optimization,” were higher Friday after Pacific Crest’s Brendan Barnicle raised his rating on the stock to Outperform from Market Perform. Barnicle notes that at Pacific Crest’s technology conference last week, “Wind River reiterated that it does not expect to increase its operating expenses through the remainder of the year.”

Ergo, Barnicle says he expects margin improvement in its fiscal Q2 ending July, and in the second half.

“While this quarter may not be the breakout quarter,” he writes, “one is coming. Wind river has turned over 50% of its sales force. One-third of the new sales reps are still ramping. Its VxWorks business remains strong, and its Linux business is still ramping. So there is likely to be a breakout quarter over the next six months.”

Barnicle set a $13 price target on the stock.

WIND 1-yr chart: