Cloud Stocks Flat As Salesforce.com Earnings Approach

The Talkin’ Cloud Stocks Index was essentially flat for the week ending November 11, 2011. Now cloud computing experts and Wall Street investors are preparing to analyze Salesforce.com‘s third quarter fiscal 2012 results, which will be announced November 17 after U.S. markets close. Here’s a look back and a look ahead for the cloud computing market.

For the week ending Nov. 11, cloud computing stocks fell 0.22 percent — a somewhat weak showing, considering the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 1.4 percent for the week and the S&P 500 gained 0.8 percent. Ten of the 20 SaaS and cloud companies in the Talkin’ Clock Stocks Index saw their shares decline for the week (or you could say that half showed a gain, if you’re a glass-half-full kind of person). The Talkin’ Cloud Stocks Index is still up 16.46 percent for the year.

Before we take a look at the few notable stock market movers of the week, it’s our usual disclaimer: Talkin’ Cloud maintains the stocks index to analyze cloud hype vs. real-world performance. The Talkin’ Cloud Stocks Index doesn’t offer any specific financial advice, and whether you buy, sell or hold is up to you and you alone.

Two Big Weekly Winners

• Cloud storage provider Carbonite (CARB) saw shares rise 4.68 percent after its third quarter results at least partially made up for last week’s privacy concerns.
• Equinix (EQIX), provider of cloud and data center services worldwide, enjoyed some analyst optimism, lifting shares 4.17 percent for the week.

Two Weekly Losers

• SaaS healthcare solution provider Athenahealth (ATHN) sunk 4.39 percent for the week — giving back most of the gains Athenahealth generated from an earnings statement earlier this month.
• Vocus (VOCS) shares slipped 4.93 percent for the week. The company makes web-based PR monitoring tools. Shares have slid in November after rallying for most of October.