What Appian's $2 Billion Verdict Means

Billion-dollar verdicts are a rarity in the corporate world, so it made quite a statement when Appian (NASDAQ: APPN) was awarded more than $2 billion last week.

A jury in the Circuit Court for Fairfax County, Virginia, found that Pegasystems (NASDAQ: PEGA), Appian's chief competitor, had stolen trade secrets from Appian during a period of time starting in 2012.

Appian shares jumped 39% last Tuesday after the news came out, while Pegasystems' stock plunged 21%. It's not a surprise that the two stocks would swing that wildly. Pending appeals, Appian stands to win $2.036 billion based on Pegasystems' enrichment from its intellectual property, a large sum for Appian, which currently has a market cap of less than $4 billion and $160 million in cash. An infusion of $2 billion, in other words, would effectively increase the company's value by 50%.

Source Fool.com