Harbinger Corp., one of the banking technology stocks hardest hit by October's market troubles, has rallied.
After dipping as low as $20.875 the week of Dec. 15, shares of the electronic data interchange software vendor were trading in the $28 range on Friday.
Though the stock has been marked by volatility in the past year, several developments should stabilize it in the coming months, analysts said.
For starters, the Atlanta-based company has completed its $200 million acquisition of Premenos Technology Corp. The deal fortified Harbinger's line of EDI offerings with products for the Internet and for mid-range computer systems.
Harbinger also announced the discontinuation of a line of software that banks could buy and resell to their small-business customers.
"We have made a lot of important decisions and moves that, if we can execute well as we go into 1998, will pay big dividends for us," said C. Tycho Howle, chairman of Harbinger.
Analysts said Harbinger has made a commitment to communicating more clearly with the investment community, which could help it avoid the wild share-price swings that occur when investors get surprised by company results.
Harbinger still is recovering from its last such surprise. Just before the 554-point dip Oct. 27 in the Dow Jones industrial average, the company released disappointing third-quarter earnings. Investors reacted by selling shares, and the stock price dropped from around $42.50 to $25.25 in ensuing days.
But taking all of 1997 into account, Harbinger's price appreciated by 52%.
Mr. Howle said he tries to take the long view. "I can't get too excited when the stock goes up, and I can't get too depressed when it goes down," he said.
Gary Craft, an analyst at BancAmerica Robertson Stephens Inc. who had been somewhat critical of Premenos in the past year, said the company is making positive strides. He estimates the Premenos acquisition will add about $46 million in revenues, bringing Harbinger's total for 1998 to $160 million.
The projection takes into account the demise of the Trusted Link Banker software line, which Mr. Craft said would have generated about $5 million in revenue this year.
In the 10 years it was on the market, Trusted Link Banker was licensed and remarketed by 21 banks, including BankAmerica Corp. But only about 10,000 companies used it-falling short of Harbinger's expectations.
Mr. Craft said Harbinger "was not getting the trading partner leverage, so they moved out of the business."
Harbinger will continue to support the software and will honor its banking contracts, but will not sell new licenses.
Mr. Howle said his company plans to develop new software based on "thin client" technology that would let businesses exchange documents, such as purchase orders and invoices, in a wider range of electronic data interchange formats.
"Banks are a good partner group for us and we want to work with them," Mr. Howle said. "But we're not doing them any favors if we don't give them solutions that we think will be appealing to their customers."
