Sourcefire (FIRE, $54.50 after hours) shares are up more than 6% after hours on a strong Q1 beat for the networking security company.

Revenue of $46.3 million (+50% year over year) easily topped the consensus estimate of $41.6 million, while EPS came in at 11 cents, three cents above the consensus.

For Q2, Sourcefire sees EPS of 12 cents to 14 cents (the consensus is 13 cents) on revenue of $46.5 million to $48.5 million (the consensus is $46.4 million).

With the fiscal 2012 (Sept.) consensus EPS estimate up to $46.87, Apple (AAPL, $591.20) shares have a forward P/E of 12.6. The high estimate is $51.60.

The stock trades at 10.9 times the fiscal 2013 consensus of $53.93, vs. the expected growth rate of 15.1%. The high estimate for next year is $64.06.

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Fusion-IO (FIO, $26.16) shares are off 5% this morning. Traders are watching to see if the stock can hold last week’s low of $25.77. A close below this level would set up a possible test of the April low of $24.21. The 200-day moving average stands at $27.12.

Shares of Ariba (ARBA, $40.23), a cloud-based provider of collaborative business commerce solutions, are up more than 13% today on the back of strong fiscal Q2 (March) results.

The company reported per-share earnings of 25 cents, three cents above the consensus estimate, on revenue of $131.5 million (+21.8% year over year), vs. the consensus of $128.9 million.

The stock hit a new 52-week high today at $40.33. We covered Ariba in the January 2012 issue of Tech-Stock Prospector (TSP #119) when the shares were trading around $27.70.

Goldman upgrades Amazon.com (AMZN, $224.05) to ‘Buy’ with a price target of $300 based on expectations for accelerated growth in the company’s digital media segment through 2013. The firm expects margins to bottom this year.

For 2012, Goldman raises its EPS estimate to 87 cents from 36 cents. The consensus is $1.24. Amazon shares are up more than 14% this morning.

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Citrix Systems (CTXS, $86.08) is up 11.5% today on heavy volume of 4.2 million shares. The stock is nearing its 52-week high of $88.49.

Fidelity is the big winner here as it is by far the #1 Citrix holder, with 26.5 million shares. In Q4, the mutual-fund giant increased its position by 32%, adding 6.43 million shares. Wellington is in the #2 spot, holding 7.9 million shares of Citrix.

Zynga (ZNGA, $9.18) reports Q1 results after the close. The stock has slumped since hitting its high of $15.91 on March 2, falling 48.8% to Tuesday’s low of $8.14.

The Q1 consensus estimates for the social gaming company: EPS of five cents on revenue of $317.2 million. The high revenue estimate is $327.1 million.

FBR Capital upgrades Citrix Systems (CTXS, $86.34 pre market) to ‘Outperform’ with a price target of $100 following last night’s strong Q1 report. Per-share earnings of 59 cents beat the consensus estimate by nine cents and revenue advanced 20% to $589 million, well above the consensus of $562.1 million.

FBR says Citrix is still in the early stages of the massive desktop virtualization product cycle. The stock is up more than 11% in pre-market trading.

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Shares of Yelp (YELP, $21.08) continue to come in from the post-IPO high of $31.96.

The market cap for the provider of local business reviews is down to $1.26 billion.

In early March, Yelp priced its IPO at $15; the stock opened for trading at $22.

Goldman raises its Apple (AAPL, $613.50 pre market) price target to $850 from $750 based on the company’s improved margin profile and strong cash generation.

Apple (AAPL, $600.30 after hours) shares surged more than 40 points after the close following the release of fiscal Q2 (March) results. Here are the highlights:

*EPS: $12.30 BEAT the consensus of $10.06

*Revenue: $39.2 billion (+58.9% y/y) BEAT the consensus of $36.8 billion

*Gross margin: 47.4% BEAT the consensus of 42.7%

*iPhone sales: 35.1 million units (BEAT)

*iPad sales: 11.8 million units (LIGHT)

*Mac sales: 4.0 million units (LIGHT)

*Fiscal Q3 EPS guide: $8.68 (consensus is $9.93)

*Fiscal Q3 Revenue guide: $34 billion (consensus is $37.4 billion)

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Piper Jaffray upgrades Ultimate Software (ULTI, $71.66) to ‘Neutral' and raises its price target to $65 from $50, saying Q1 channel checks were positive for the cloud-based provider of talent management solutions.

With a market cap of $1.89 billion, Ultimate trades at 5.7 times the 2012 consensus revenue estimate of $330.6 million. Growth is expected to come in at nearly 23%.

On March 27, Ultimate shares hit a new 52-week high at $75.

For the fourth time since early March, Citrix Systems (CTXS, $75.61) shares failed around the $80 level. Once sellers emerged this time, the stock dipped below the 50-day moving average at $76.40. There is short-term support at $72.75.

Shares of Cornerstone OnDemand (CSOD, $20.47), a provider of cloud-based talent management solutions, are off more than 5% after a Barclays downgrade to ‘Equal Weight’ on valuation.

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Salesforce.com (CRM, $155) shares have been trending upward since the start of this month, and last week hit a new 52-week high at $164.75. But the RSI has been flashing a negative divergence since the middle of March. Selling has picked up in the volatile stock over the past two sessions. There is short-term support at today’s low of $150.66 as well as at the 50-day moving average of $148.05.

Apple (AAPL, $561.96) shares have dipped below the 50-day moving average at $570.58. The stock, which traded to a low of $556.64, is well off its recent high of $644. The RSI is falling from 39.3, but is not yet in oversold territory. There is support around $550.

Check Point Software (CHKP, $58.60) reports Q1 EPS of 74 cents, two cents above the consensus estimate, on revenue of $313.1 million (+11.3% year over year), vs. the consensus of $312.8 million.

For Q2, the networking security vendor sees EPS of 74 cents to 77 cents, vs. the consensus of 76 cents.

The company maintains its 2012 outlook: EPS of $3.10 to $3.20 (the consensus is $3.17) on revenue of $1.35 billion to $1.4 billion (the consensus is $1.38 billion).

Expectations were high going into this report, so the stock is off more than 8% because the company did not raise guidance for the year.

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After the close on Tuesday, Apple (AAPL, $572.98) reports its results for the March quarter. Here are the median Wall Street sales estimates for the company’s key products in fiscal Q2:

iPhone: 30.5 million units

iPad: 12.15 million units

Mac: 4.5 million units

The consensus estimates: EPS of $10.00 (the high estimate is $11.80) on revenue of $36.6 billion (the high estimate is $41.09 billion).

*Splunk (SPLK) provides solutions for analyzing machine data, which is one of the fastest growing components of digital information and comes in an increasing number of formats. Splunk offers a software platform that enables organizations to gain real-time operational intelligence by harnessing the power of this data. The software collects and indexes data at massive scale (regardless of format or source), and enables users to quickly and easily search, correlate, analyze, monitor and report this data in real time. Splunk Storm, a cloud-based version, is in beta.

-IPO Price (4/19): $17  (Opening price: $32 +88%)

-Estimated IPO price range: $11 to $13 UPDATED (previously $8 to $10)

-Shares outstanding after offering: 94.5 million (with over-allotment option)

-Revenue: Fiscal 2012 (Jan.) revenue rose 83% to $121 million

-Customers: 3,700+, including a majority of the Fortune 100

-Key competitors: BMC Software, CA, H-P, Adobe, EMC, SAP

-Key management: CEO Godfrey Sullivan (since 2008) was CEO of Hyperion Solutions (bought by Oracle)

 *Infoblox (BLOX) is a leading provider of automated network control appliances that enable dynamic networks and next-generation datacenters. The company’s solutions combine real-time IP address management with the automation of key network control and network change/configuration management processes in purpose-built physical and virtual appliances.

Infoblox’s proprietary software, which is highly scalable, automates vital network functions—including IP address management, device configuration, compliance, network discovery, policy implementation, security and monitoring. Dynamic networks enable on-demand connections and configurations of devices and applications, allowing organizations to accelerate delivery of virtualization and cloud computing.

-IPO Price (4/20): $16 UPDATED (Opening price: $22.50 +41%)

-Estimated IPO price range: $12 to $14

-Shares outstanding after offering: 44 million

-Revenue: Fiscal 2011 (June) revenue rose 30% to $132.8 million. For the first six months of fiscal 2012, revenue rose 31% to $80.7 million

-Customers: More than 5,400 clients have purchased Infoblox appliances

-Key competitors: BMC Software, EMC, Hewlett-Packard and IBM

-Key management: CEO Robert Thomas (since 2004) previously served as CEO of NetScreen Technologies (1998-2004), which was bought by Juniper Networks

*Proofpoint (PFPT) is a cloud-based provider of security services for large and midsized organizations. The company’s SaaS platform is made up of a suite of on-demand data-protection solutions, including threat protection, regulatory compliance, archiving, governance and secure communication.

-IPO Price (4/20): $13 UPDATED (Opening price: $16.85 +30%)

-Estimated IPO price range: $10-$12

-Shares outstanding after offering: 29.5 million

-Revenue: 2011 revenue rose 26% to $81.8 million

-Customers: 2,400, including 25 of the Fortune 100

-Key Competitors: Symantec, Intel (McAfee), Cisco, EMC

-Key management: CEO Gary Steele (since 2002) is a vet of Sybase, Sun and H-P

ISI Group raises its VMware (VMW, $115.91) price target to $135 from $110 because it thinks the company can grow revenue at least 20% annually over the next couple of years thanks to continued adoption of server virtualization, increased tool attach rates and desktop virtualization gaining traction.

VMware shares today hit a new 52-week high at $118.79.

For more on VMware, see TechStock Radar—April 18, 2012.

Read the latest issue of Tech-Stock Prospector on your Amazon Kindle or your Kindle for iPad/iPhone reading app.

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VMware (VMW, $111.29) reports Q1 EPS of 66 cents, six cents above the consensus estimate of 60 cents, on revenue of $1.06 billion (+25.1% year over year), vs. the consensus of $1.03 billion. Revenue in the U.S. rose 21%, while international revenue was up 28%.

For Q2, VMware sees revenue of $1.1 billion to $1.12 billion, in line with the consensus of $1.11 billion.

For 2012, the company expects revenue of $4.525 billion to $4.625 billion, representing growth of 20% to 23%.

Apple (AAPL, $614.44) shares hit $620.25 this morning after Goldman boosted its price target to $750 from $700 ahead of the March earnings report next week.

The firm sees Apple coming in with EPS of $10.18 on revenue of $36.9 billion, above the consensus estimates of $9.94 and $36.5 million, respectively. It is interesting to note that over the past 30 days the consensus EPS estimate has gone to $9.94 from $9.59.

For the March quarter, Goldman ups its iPhone estimate to 31.1 million units from 28.2 million and raises its iPad estimate to 12.5 million units from 10.1 million.

OpenTable (OPEN, $39.75) has a new competitor in the online restaurant reservation business.

Food Network, which is owned by Scripps Networks Interactive (SNI, $48.58), has launched CityEats in Philadelphia and Washington, D.C.  The new service only has about 130 restaurants in the mix right now, but it plans to expand its restaurant coverage in these two initial markets and then push into NYC and San Francisco by the end of the year.

CityEats has its work cut out for it because OpenTable is well entrenched, covering some 17,000 restaurants in North America. In some markets, such as San Francisco, OpenTable reservations represent nearly a quarter of all restaurant seats.

CityEats is trying to win over restaurants with lower start-up costs and reduced per-diner reservation fees. The criticism lobbed at OpenTable has always been that its fees are too high, so CityEats is working a solid strategy. In addition, the CityEats website is a little more robust, offering video profiles of featured restaurants (including chef/owner interviews) produced by Food Network.

OpenTable shares have come down from their February high of $52.64 and are basically flat YTD. Perhaps the threat of increased competition is making some investors nervous.

For 2012, OpenTable is expected to come in with EPS of $1.53 on revenue of $168.2 million. With a recent market cap of $897 million, OpenTable has a forward price-to-sales ratio of 5.3, down from 9.1 in September. The forward P/E of 26 is 1.3 times the expected 2012 EPS growth rate of 19.5%.

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There is a new Action Alert in the Vulture Portfolio. Tech-Stock Prospector subscribers should see today’s Rob’s Journal for details.

Citi raises its Citrix Systems (CTXS, $75.56) price target to $88 from $78 on positive trends in desktop virtualization. Citrix reports Q1 results on April 25. The consensus estimates: EPS of 51 cents on revenue of $561.8 million.

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The Nasdaq Composite is down 1.1%, but some software names are showing relative strength for the session:

*LogMeIn (LOGM) +3.4%

*Ariba (ARBA) +2.3%

*VMware (VMW) +2.1%

*Demandware (DWRE) +2.1%

*Tibco Software (TIBX) +1.8%

*Constant Contact (CTCT) +1.6%

Wedge Partners is again expressing concerns about the March quarter at Apple (AAPL, $609.88). The firm says expectations are so high that Apple needs to really deliver or the shares will take a hit.

For example, Wedge says Wall Street is looking for iPad sales in the range of 11 million units to 14 million units, but it would take a number closer to 15 million units to constitute a “blowout.” Apple shares traded down to $603.51 earlier in the session and are still off more than 2%.

Macquarie likes Oracle (ORCL, $28.63) shares over the next three to six months because the stock has lagged its software group by 8% so far this year and the firm thinks investors are under-appreciating the company’s core database franchise and seasonal strength in the May quarter. Macquarie has a price target of $33.

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Oracle (ORCL, $28.61) shares are holding just above support around $28. Yesterday, the stock pulled back to $28.04, but remained above the February 15 low of $27.92.

However, Oracle shares lack any real upside momentum at this point (the RSI is at 43.5) and remain below the 200-day moving average at $29.47 and the 50-day moving average at $29.22.

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Credit Suisse ups its Apple (AAPL, $625.81) price target to $750 from $700 on increased iPhone volumes. The firm expects Apple’s unit share of the global smartphone market to increase to 23.2% this year from 18.9% last year.

Wells Fargo raises its fair-value range on Equinix (EQIX, $155.95) to $192-$205 from $150-$160, saying the company continues to gain traction with managed hosting/cloud providers, which is particularly positive for attracting enterprise customers.

The firm has picked up chatter that Equinix recently won some large deals, which should provide a boost to Q2 and Q3 numbers.  The firm says demand in key markets (Silicon Valley, New York and DC) remains solid.

For more on Equinix, see TechStock Radar—March 20 & 21, 2012.

Read the latest issue of Tech-Stock Prospector on your Amazon Kindle.

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Sterne Agee raises its VMware (VMW, $107.97) price target to $119 from $115 following positive checks with resellers. The firm thinks demand for View 5.0 is increasing and likes the company’s product cycle through the remainder of the year.

Morgan Stanley raises its LinkedIn (LNKD, $100.45) price target to $115 from $105 based on increased margin expectations. The firm says LinkedIn has been increasing its sales force in an efficient manner.

At the end of Q4, Morgan Stanley was the #2 holder of LinkedIn, with 4.33 million shares.

BlackRock discloses a 14.2% stake in Powerwave Technologies (PWAV, $2.15), a provider of wireless infrastructure equipment. In an SEC filing, the money manager said it now owns 4.96 million shares, making it the #2 investor.

As of the December quarter, Artis Capital Management was the #1 holder, with 5.87 million shares. Powerwave shares are up more than 16% today on the BlackRock news.

The April 2012 PDF of Tech-Stock Prospector (TSP #122) has been posted to the website.

Here are some of the topics covered in this issue:

*Riding the tech IPO wave

*5 promising new small caps

*Demandware powers e-commerce

*Yelp delivers the reviews

*Bazaarvoice analyzes the feedback

*ExactTarget hits the social media mark

*A former high-flyer comes back to earth

*Mobile ad play Millennial Media

*ValueClick’s Greystripe purchase paying off

*Cloud buzz drives NetSuite shares

*Valuation update: Salesforce.com & Concur

*Intel looks for growth in the Post-PC era

*EMC gets a boost from the cloud

*Tibco Software’s 5 key growth segments

*Behind the surge in Rackspace Hosting shares

*Cornerstone OnDemand emerges in talent management

*TSP Deal Report: Symantec buys Nukona & Odyssey

For more information or to subscribe: 800-392-0998

VMware (VMW, $105.45) announces that Mark Peek is leaving his job as CFO to take the same position at Workday, the privately held provider of cloud enterprise solutions for HR, payroll and financial management.  Workday, which is expected to go public later this year, was founded by PeopleSoft vets Dave Duffield and Aneel Bhusri. This hire sets the stage for the IPO because it brings an experienced CFO from a major tech company into the mix.

In today's tough market, LinkedIn (LNKD, $98.03) shares are down less than 1%, while the Nasdaq Composite is off more than 1.7%. The stock is down a bit from its March 30 high of $105.88.

Apple (AAPL, $634.13) shares this morning ran up to a new high of $644 and then reversed into the red, trading down to a low of $627. The stock is trying to work its way back to even for the session, but a negative close would raise the risk that a short-term top was put in place at that high.

The April 2012 PDF of Tech-Stock Prospector (TSP #122) has been posted to the website.

Here are some of the topics covered in this issue:

*Riding the tech IPO wave

*5 promising new small caps

*Demandware powers e-commerce

*Yelp delivers the reviews

*Bazaarvoice analyzes the feedback

*ExactTarget hits the social media mark

*A former high-flyer comes back to earth

*Mobile ad play Millennial Media

*ValueClick’s Greystripe purchase paying off

*Cloud buzz drives NetSuite shares

*Valuation update: Salesforce.com & Concur

*Intel looks for growth in the Post PC era

*EMC gets a boost from the cloud

*5 key growth segments for Tibco Software

*Behind the surge in Rackspace Hosting shares

*Cornerstone OnDemand emerges in talent management

*TSP Deal Report: Symantec buys Nukona & Odyssey

For more information or to subscribe: 800-392-0998

OpCo raises its Qualcomm (QCOM, $66.50) price target to $75 from $70 based on strength seen in the March quarter from key customers Apple and Samsung. The firm also thinks Qualcomm will gain share this year and next year because of a favorable vendor mix (the iPhone 5 and Galaxy launches are coming) and increased 4G LTE adoption.

TSP Deal Report is a weekly email service cover tech M&A and IPOs. Each issue includes an updated list of the most likely tech buyout candidates.

Subscribers receive TSP Deal Report each Friday afternoon. The annual price: $1,045. For more information, contact Tech-Stock Prospector Customer Support at 800-392-0998.

Ahead of its IPO, Facebook announces a $1-billion deal to purchase mobile photo-sharing service Instagram. Based in San Francisco, Instagram, which has just 13 employees, was working on a round of funding that would have valued the company at $500 million before Facebook came calling. Talk about a windfall! Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg says Facebook is “committed to building and growing Instagram independently.”

Topeka Capital says the December quarter could be an “extraordinary” one for Apple (AAPL, $633.93) based on growing buzz for the upcoming iPhone 5, which the firm says is expected to have a “sleek” new design featuring a 4-inch screen. Topeka Capital looks for a launch in August or September.

BTIG Research downgrades Apple (AAPL, $627.50) to ‘Hold’ based on changing dynamics in the post-paid wireless industry, which may force the company to lower the iPhone price. Also, the firm says there are elevated expectations for Apple to deliver another revolutionary product to the market.

Zynga (ZNGA, $11.88) shares are down 2.7% today and are now off 25% from the March 2 high of $15.91. With support at $12.20 taken out on a closing basis, Zynga needs to hold important support at $11.71 from February. Today’s low was $11.76. There is a gap on the price chart from February 2 at $10.65.

For more on Zynga, see TechStock Radar—April 3, 2012.

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Barclays raises its Qualcomm (QCOM, $67.48) price target to $75 from $72 based on healthy demand for smartphones across several geographies. The company is benefiting from strong sales into Apple and Samsung, says Barclays.

Capstone starts coverage of LinkedIn (LNKD, $100.10) with a ‘Buy’ rating and price target of $125, saying the company is disrupting two large global markets: recruiting (an $85-billion segment) and online advertising ($70 billion segment).

The firm admits the valuation is high, but says LinkedIn’s expansion opportunities offer investors pure-play exposure to a targeted vertical social network at a time when social networking is still in its early growth stages.

Jefferies raises its Apple (AAPL, $625.32) price target to $800 from $699 based on increased confidence that the company will debut a TV set (really a combination display, gaming center, media hub, computer, home automater) later this year. The firm thinks the product could be called iPanel.

For fiscal 2013, Jefferies boosts its EPS estimate to $53.98 from $49.20 and takes its revenue estimate up to $214 billion from $198 billion.

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Zynga (ZNGA, $12.27) says Draw Something downloads have surpassed 50 million. When Zynga announced the purchase of mobile game developer OMGPOP on March 21, the download count totaled 35 million. I know so many people playing this game right now. But it is still too early to tell if this has anything other than short-term legs.

Fusion-IO (FIO, $26.83) shares are off more than 4% this morning on active volume. The stock has taken out its 200-day moving average at $27.41. There is short-term support at $25.60.

For more on Fusion-IO, see TechStock Radar—March 30, 2012.

Yahoo (YHOO, $15.18) will eliminate 2,000 jobs and realize $375 million in annualized savings. The company says it is an important next step toward becoming a smaller, nimbler and more profitable enterprise.

Read the latest issue of Tech-Stock Prospector on your Amazon Kindle.

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Shares of Guidewire Software (GWRE, $28.05), a provider of back-office solutions for the property and casualty insurance sector, are off more than 6% today after the company announced plans for a $225-million secondary offering.

Guidewire went public in January at $13 a share, opened for trading at $16.75 and ran up to a high of $38.13 on March 26.

JP Morgan raises its Apple (AAPL, $626.90) price target to $715 from $625 based on raised expectations for the iPhone and iPad. For the March quarter, the firm increases its iPhone shipments estimate to 31.1 million units from 28.1 million units, while the iPad forecast goes to 13.8 million units from 10.1 million units.

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Traders are watching the $12.20 support level on Zynga (ZNGA, $12.58) because the price chart indicates a potential short-term top. The stock hit a high of $15.91 on March 2. If $12.20 is taken out on a closing basis, the next support level is $11.71 from the middle of February.

Piper Jaffray increases its Apple (AAPL, $618.63) price target to $910 from $718, which is based on a forward P/E of 14 applied to a calendar 2014 EPS estimate of $65.04. For calendar 2012, the EPS estimate is $44.76.

The firm expects Apple to boost its share of the smartphone market to 33% in calendar 2015 from 19% last year.

On the tablet side, Piper Jaffray sees Apple selling a fourth generation iPad with retina display for less than $400 and launching a small-screen iPad for less than $300. The firm is modeling a 60% tablet market share in calendar 2015, down from 64% this calendar year.

While Piper Jaffray does not include an Apple TV set in this model, the firm says the product, if launched, could add $4 a share to the calendar 2015 EPS estimate of $80.18.

Intel (INTC, $28.44) shares hit a new 52-week high today at $28.45. Some traders are betting on more gains, as the May 30 calls are seeing a big volume spike.

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Canaccord Genuity raises its Qualcomm (QCOM, $68.38) price target to $80 from $75, saying checks show global smartphone demand remains strong, with consumers upgrading from feature phones in emerging markets.

Qualcomm is seeing good design wins for its integrated 28nm 8960 chipset and other multi-mode LTE Snapdragon solutions, according to the firm.

Canaccord expects Qualcomm to post strong earnings growth in fiscal 2012 & fiscal 2013 (Sept.) thanks to increasing market share for integrated chipsets and ramping smartphone demand in emerging markets.

RBC Capital raises its VMware (VMW, $113.85) price target to $125 following positive checks for datacenter and desktop demand across all geographies.

VMware shares hit a new 52-week high this morning at $113.95.

Topeka Capital starts coverage of Apple (AAPL, S) with a ‘Buy’ rating and a price target of $1,001 based on the company’s expanding portfolio of innovative products and growth potential in China.

The analyst, who previously worked at Ticonderoga, says, “Apple fever is spreading like wildfire around the world and we see no end in sight to this trend.”