Piper Jaffray Gives Earnings Preview On RightNow Technologies

Piper Jaffray's checks with contacts in the RightNow Technologies RNOW ecosystem suggest ongoing healthy demand across multiple segments, with the contact center driving the largest opportunity. Contacts also suggest that RNOW launched a new, dedicated SMB sales team very recently, and the clear internal message across all teams is to grow rapidly for the next twelve quarters. Piper continues to view 12 month backlog as a key metric to monitor; while Q1 marks a tough y/y comparison, it expects 20-30% growth will be achievable in 2011. RNOW's robust sales hiring and potential for a rebound in contact center hiring activity may also provide a tailwind this year. Piper Jaffray reiterates its Overweight rating and $38 PT on RightNow Technologies. RightNow Technologies is well positioned to ride the wave of opportunities created within the customer experience market by four mega trends: the rise of the empowered consumer, widespread adoption of cloud computing, proliferation of online interactions; and the legacy contact center replacement cycle. RNOW closed Tuesday at $33.65