Ahead of the Bell: Novell

NEW YORK - Novell Inc.'s business trends held up "reasonably well" during the fourth quarter, considering the economic turmoil, Oppenheimer analyst Brian Denyeau said Friday.

The software maker posted a fiscal fourth-quarter loss on Thursday that was in line with Wall Street's expectations, and revenue slightly below. Denyeau kept an "Outperform" rating on the stock, calling the quarter "solid."

Denyeau said he sees Novell's 6 percent product revenue growth a "healthy number" given the level of uncertainty surrounding technology spending. Businesses are cutting back their technology budgets because of the economy.

The analyst added he thinks it bodes well that the company has reached a stage in its development that weakness in parts of its business can be largely offset by good performance elsewhere.

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