Jive Software shares climb after Barron's article

NEW YORK — Shares of Jive Software Inc., which makes Facebook-style social networks for businesses, rose Monday after an article in Barron's gave an upbeat view of the freshly public company.

THE SPARK: In an article posted on Saturday, Barron's said Jive is "effective in providing communications tools for employees, bosses and businesses." It notes that the company's initial public offering was somewhat under the radar because it happened just a few days before that of Zynga Inc., the online game company. So far, though, Barron's said, "Jive is holding up nicely."

Jive declined to comment on the stock movement or the Barron's article. Last week, the company reported a wider fourth-quarter net loss than a year earlier, hurt by higher expenses, but said its revenue grew sharply. The results beat Wall Street's expectations.

THE BIG PICTURE: Jive went public on Dec. 13 after pricing its stock at $12 amid a busy time for Internet-related IPOs. But while Zynga and Facebook harness the more playful side of the social Web, Jive, caters to professionals. The company creates websites and other tools for companies looking for better ways to share information among their employees and customers.

SHARE ACTION: Jive's stock climbed $1.37, or 8 percent, to $18.45 in afternoon trading. Earlier, the stock hit $18.65, its highest level since making its public debut.