Shares of Red Hat Inc. jumped in aftermarket trading Thursday after the open-source software company reported third-quarter results that topped Wall Street expectations.

The Raleigh, North Carolina-based company said it had net income $47.9 million, or 26 cents per share, in the quarter that ended Nov. 30. That was down from $52 million, or 27 cents a share, a year ago when it booked a $4 million tax benefit.

Earnings, adjusted for stock option expense and non-recurring costs were 42 cents per share in the latest quarter, which beat Wall Street expectations. The average estimate of analysts surveyed by Zacks Investment Research was for adjusted earnings of 40 cents per share.

The company behind the Linux open-source operating system posted revenue of $455.9 million in the period, also exceeding Street forecasts. Analysts expected $450.9 million, according to Zacks. A year ago, it posted revenue of $396.5 million.

Red Hat's shares rose $5.72, or 9.3 percent, to $67.22 in extended trading. At the close of regular-session trading Thursday, Red Hat shares had risen roughly 10 percent since the beginning of the year, while the Standard & Poor's 500 index has risen 11 percent.

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Elements of this story were generated by Automated Insights using data from Zacks Investment Research. RHT stock research report from Zacks.

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