Appian soars after winning $2.04 billion verdict against Pegasystems

FILE PHOTO: A man talks on the phone under a Pega logo at the Pegasystems booth at the SIBOS banking and financial conference in Toronto, Ontario, Canada October 19, 2017. Picture taken October 19, 2017. REUTERS/Chris Helgren

(Reuters) -Appian Corp shares soared and Pegasystems Inc shares tumbled on Tuesday after a Virginia jury ordered Pegasystems to pay its software rival $2.04 billion in damages for misappropriating trade secrets.

The damages award issued on Monday by the Fairfax County Circuit Court jury followed a seven-week trial, and may be the largest in Virginia's history, Appian said.