Salesforce.com (NYSE:CRM) Explodes on Strong Quarter

Shares of salesforce.com (NYSE:CRM) exploded on their strong quarterly results, soaring to close at $136.74 Friday, gaining $20.97.

Net income for the quarter rose to $21.1 million, or 15 cents a share for the quarter ending in October. Last year they earning $20.7 million, or 16 cents a share.

Revenue came in at $429.1 million, rising by 30 cents a share, a gain of 30 percent over $330.5 million in the same quarter last year. Analysts had been looking for $424.8 million.

FBR commented, "Last night, salesforce.com reported a solid quarter, with upside across the board and accelerating revenue and billings growth. We attribute the solid quarter to an improved IT spending environment, improved attrition rates, and favorable foreign exchange movements. Management highlighted that Service Cloud remains its fastest-growing business and Chatter is now being used by about 70% of its customer base. Due to the solid bookings quarter, the company provided better-than-expected revenue guidance and is poised to achieve $2 billion of revenues next year."

FBR raised their price target on them from $85 to $110.

Guidance from the cloud computing company drove the share price.