Shares of Autodesk Inc. rose in premarket trading Wednesday after the design software maker beat Wall Street’s expectations for its fourth-quarter earnings and revenue as demand for the company’s products improved.

The results left analysts hopeful that the quarter represents a positive turn in the company’s business. Janney analyst Sasa Zorovic said the quarter showed that demand was increasing across the board, especially in Europe. He also noted that Autodesk landed several key contracts.

The quarter was “a promising sign that this was not just a good quarter built off of a few big deals … but rather, may represent a true stabilization,” he said in a research note.

Zorovic raised his price target for the company’s shares by $4 to $30 and increased his earnings and revenue forecasts for the first quarter and fiscal 2011. But he kept his “Neutral” rating on the stock, saying that the price isn’t low enough, relative to expectations, to warrant an investment just yet.

Autodesk develops 2D and 3D design software used in industries such as manufacturing, construction, media and entertainment.

Late Tuesday, Autodesk reported earnings of $50.1 million, or 21 cents per share, for the three months ended in January, compared with a loss of $105.3 million, or 47 cents per share, in the 2008 quarter.

Excluding one-time items, Autodesk earned 30 cents per share on revenue of $456 million. Analysts were expecting earnings of 23 cents per share and revenue of $432 million, according to Thomson Reuters.

Jefferies analyst Ross MacMillan noted that all of Autodesk’s lines of business grew quarter-over-quarter, it signed 22 deals valued at more than $1 million — double that of the first three quarters — and the product backlog stood at its highest level in six quarters.

He increased his fiscal 2011 and 2012 revenue and earnings estimates, raised his price target by $1 to $31 and kept his “Buy” rating.

Shares of Autodesk, based in San Rafael, Calif., rose $1.84, or 7.2 percent, to $27.50 in premarket trading