Paul H. Bourke announced he will step down as president and chief operating officer of Bisys Group Inc. to become president and chief executive officer of a software company serving the energy industry.
Mr. Bourke, 51, is to leave May 18.
He was the second senior manager to announce this year that he would leave Bisys, a Little Falls, N.J.-based outsourcer that serves more than 6,000 banks and corporate customers. Chief financial officer Robert McMullan plans to leave later this year; the company said he wants to pursue other interests.
Patrick Burton, an analyst at Lehman Brothers in New York, said the moves do not indicate fundamental problems. Bisys met Wall Street's earnings expectations when it recently reported fiscal third-quarter revenues of $99 million, up 18% from a year earlier.
"The timing of the two announcements is unfortunate," he said. "We still have it rated at a 'buy,' and our price target is $48 for the year."
Sources said both officials like the idea of joining companies that might make initial public offerings. They could be in line to receive lucrative options.
Bisys' stock price dropped 62.5 cents last week, to $37.375 Friday. Merrill Lynch and Co. downgraded the stock to "long term accumulate" from "long term buy."
The executive changes were not a factor in the downgrade. Bisys had reached Merrill Lynch's near-term price target of $38 a share, said analyst Richard Park.
