Ariba shares leap

Ex-casualty gains a run of good luck...

Ariba announced that its fourth quarter results are likely to be positive yesterday, a move which pushed the company's share price up by almost eight per cent. Goldman Sachs upped its rating of the company from 'market performer' to 'market outperform'. The investment bank also knocked down its estimates for Ariba's losses per share from 13 to seven cents. Goldman also cited an increased product line, along with new deals, as factors contributing to Ariba's good fortunes. In the latter part of 2001 the company repositioned itself as a 'spend management' company in an attempt to distance itself from the almost notorious B2B tag. After a disastrous 12 months, the company is now clawing back share value. In October, its shares were worth less than $2. The company was often mentioned in the same breath as another B2B casualty, Commerce One, whose share value currently hovers around the $4 mark. Ariba closed up 5.44 per cent at $7.56 overnight.