Red Hat plans more hiring after adding 600 employees, Apr 30, 2009

Despite the worst recession in decades, Linux giant Red Hat added 600 employees to its rolls during the 12 months that ended Feb. 28, and the Raleigh company anticipates more hiring going forward, according to a filing Wednesday with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

Red Hat said Tuesday it has hired a new head of its marketing division - the company's fifth marketing chief in six years.

Red Hat's stock continued its recent roller coaster ride Tuesday, as shares jumped more than 8 percent a day after the Raleigh-based technology company filed revised first-quarter results.

A day after Raleigh-based Red Hat announced that it would restate its earnings from the past three years, at least two law firms said Wednesday that they have filed class-action lawsuits against the Raleigh-based Linux reseller.

The restatement announcement and news released in the subsequent conference call proved to be an anchor that pulled the Raleigh-based tech firm's stock down a whopping 22.7 percent below its previous waterline Tuesday.

Shares of Red Hat reached a 52-week high Thursday, as the Raleigh-based Linux distributor continued to reap rewards from a strong earnings report and analysts' upgrades announced earlier in the week.

Red Hat shares rose as high as $22.45 before dropping slightly to close at $22.38. That was an increase of $2.37, or 11.8 percent, from the stock's previous close of $20.01.

Red Hat's previous 52-week high was $22.11.

More than 16.3 million shares of the company's stock were traded Thursday, compared to an average volume of 5.3 million.