Ozella notes

Unlike peers that reported August quarters, most notably Oracle Corp (ORCL.O) and Red Hat Inc (RHT.N), VMWare suggested the environment was getting worse with extra deal scrutiny and a pull-back in long-term maintenance signings, Citigroup analyst Walter Pritchard said.According to Thomson Reuters’ StarMine data, Pritchard, who rates VMWare stock “neutral,” is a five-star rated analyst for the accuracy of his earnings estimates on the company.Needham’s Scott Zeller, another five-star rated analyst, said the company’s fourth-quarter outlook was only marginally above consensus revenue, and was a “let-down” from the last conference call.”It is our belief VMware felt there was no upside or reward for “bulling through” the current macro fears with their guidance, and chose to include conservatism in their fourth quarter and first quarter also,” Zeller added.VMware, whose software is used to build cloud computing data centers and boost the efficiency of personal computers and servers, forecast fourth-quarter revenue of $1.03 billion to $1.06 billion. Analysts were expecting revenue of $1.03 billion, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.Analysts at Goldman, who raised their price target on the stock to $120 from $115, said VMWare has one of the best growth profiles in enterprise technology for 2012.”With concerns over the 4Q and 1Q12 guide now behind us and the bar set at very reasonable levels now in our view, we see this as opportune time to build positions in the stock for those that have been waiting on the sidelines,” Goldman said.Shares of the company were down nearly 2 percent at $88 in pre-market trade on Tuesday. VMWare shares closed at $89.52 on Monday on the New York Stock Exchange.

Secretary of State William Gardner, New Hampshire’s top election official, lashed out at Nevada Republicans for rescheduling their caucus for Jan. 14 — a move that itself was prompted by Florida advancing its primary.”It’s really up to Nevada,” Gardner said in a statement. “If Nevada does not accept a date of Tuesday, Jan. 17 or later for its caucus, it leaves New Hampshire no choice but to consider December of this year.”Iowa has tentatively set its caucus for Jan. 3. Gardner said state law meant that New Hampshire’s primary could be held no later than Jan. 7, a Saturday rather than the usual Tuesday.”A Jan. 14 Nevada caucus would squeeze us into a date that wedges us by just a few days between two major caucus states,” Gardner said, referring to Iowa and Nevada.Instead, he said Dec. 13 or Dec. 6 were “realistic options, and we have logistics in place to make either date happen if needed,” Gardner said.In the process of choosing the presidential nominees fielded by the two major U.S. political parties, candidates compete in primary elections or other contests in the states to win delegates who ultimately will pick the nominees in later party conventions.There will be no Democratic primaries because President Barack Obama is unopposed for the party’s nomination.The Republican nominee is due to face Obama in the Nov. 6, 2012, general election.