Software as a Service Stocks Rise Nearly 4 Percent

While financial stocks were on a roller coaster ride, software as a service (SaaS) stocks delivered a strong showing for the week ended Sept. 19. In fact, MSPmentor’s SaaS 20 Stock Index rose 3.81% on the week. It was the first time the index rose since mid-August.

The week’s biggest winners included NetSuite (N, +18.21%), SuccessFactors (SFSF, +16.15%), Omniture Inc. (OMTR, +14.76%) and Blackboard Inc. (BBBB, +9.70%). The SaaS 20 Stock Index also had its share of weekly losers, including Dell (DELL, -12.66%) and EMC (EMC, -7.52%).

Here’s what went right — and wrong — for the SaaS 20 Stock Index during the week.

Let’s start with the good news. NetSuite investors cheered a stock upgrade, and the company also announced plans to introduce SaaS applications in Australia and New Zealand.

NetSuite isn’t alone. Australia has emerged as a hot market for SaaS and managed services application providers, who have opened multiple offices and secured multiple customers in Australia this year.

In the downside, Dell said its quarterly revenue would not meet Wall Street’s expectations — mostly because of intense competitive pressure and lackluster customer demand for hardware. Still, that announcement was largely unrelated to Dell’s own SaaS and managed services efforts, which include a new push into the New York Metro Area.

Overall, our SaaS 20 Stock Index is down nearly 13 percent for the year.