Archive for the ‘Technology Stocks’ Category

Unwired Planet, Inc. (UPIP) soars after announcement of patent infringement lawsuits against Apple and Google

Thursday, September 20th, 2012

Shares of , Unwired Planet Inc. (Nasdaq: UPIP) were up more than 9 percent from Wednesday’s closing price in morning trading on Thursday after the company announced that it filed patent infringement lawsuits against Apple and Google.

Shares touched a high of $2.02 in morning trading, up from Wednesday’s closing price of $1.85.

The complaints charge Apple with infringing on 10 of Unwired Planet’s patents, and charge Google with infringing on 10 different patents, according to a September 20 press release. The 20 patents are related to smart mobile devices, cloud computing, digital content stores, push notification technologies and location-based services including mapping and advertising, the press release stated.

“Apple and Google generate substantial revenues from devices and services that rely on the intellectual property that Unwired Planet developed and patented over the last 15 years,” said Unwired Planet’s CEO Mike Mulica in the September 20 press release. “They should compensate us for the use of our patented technologies, which are foundational to mobility.”

The complaints were filed in Nevada, which was chosen as “one of 14 districts across the United States as a pilot patent district,” and has developed “specialized procedures to handle complex patent cases,” Mulica said. “As a result, we believe the Nevada district will be an ideal venue to resolve this matter with efficiency and expertise.”

Unwired Planet has about 200 U.S. and foreign patents and roughly 75 pending applications, Fores reported.

Shares of UPIP are down about 19 percent over the past three months.

Groupon, Inc. (GRPN) soars after announcement of new credit card payment system

Wednesday, September 19th, 2012

Shares of Groupon, Inc. (Nasdaq: GRPN) were up more than 10 percent from Tuesday’s closing price in morning trading on Wednesday after the company announced the launch of Groupon Payments, a new service that offers merchants a low-cost option to accept credit cards.

Groupon shares touched a high of $5.17 in morning trading on Wednesday, up from Tuesday’s closing price of $4.69.

According to a September 19 press release, Groupon Payments allows any merchant that runs a deal with Groupon in the U.S. to accept payments “at the lowest rates in today’s market place.” The press release stated that MasterCard, Visa and Discover transactions will cost merchants 1.8 percent and a 15 cent transaction fee, and American Express transactions will cost merchants 3 percent plus a 15 percent transaction fee.

“Our goal is to provide merchants with the most affordable and powerful tools to run and grow their businesses,” said Mihir Shah, VP Mobile and Merchant Products at Groupon in the September 19 press release. “With groundbreaking pricing and service, Groupon Payments does just that.”

The technology was initially tested int he San Francisco Bay area. And although the rates may seem attractive, Groupon faces stiff competition from EBay’s PayPal unit and Square, a service founded by Jack Dorsey (co-founder of Twitter).

Despite the competition, Groupon’s rates are somewhat lower than competitors’ rates. Square charges 2.75 percent per swipe, or $275 per month. PayPal charges 2.7 percent, the Associated Press reported.

Shares of Groupon are down about 50 percent over the past three months.

MER Telemanagement Solutions Ltd. (MTSL) soars on improved second quarter results

Friday, August 17th, 2012

MTS Telemanagement SolutionsShares of Israel-based business support systems provider MER Telemanagement Solutions Ltd. (Nasdaq: MTSL) soared as much as 77 percent from Thursday’s closing price in morning trading on Friday after the company announced improved results for the second quarter of 2012 over the same period last year.

MTSL hit an intraday high of $2.84 per share on Friday, up from Thursday’s closing price of $1.60.

Revenue for the second quarter was $3.3 million, up from $3 million in the same period a year ago. Operating income from the quarter skyrocketed to $517,000, a 170 percent improvement over operating profit of $191,000 for the same quarter a year earlier. Net income improved to $460,000, or 10 cents per share, up from $229,000 or 5 cents per share in the second quarter of 2011.

“Our second quarter results represent continued improvements in our financial results and indicators as a result of our efforts to develop our Telecom Expense Management opportunities through partners, new customer acquisitions and expanding our existing customer base,” said Eytan Bar, CEO of MTS in an August 16 press release. “In addition, our company’s Billing and Mobile Virtual Network Operator (MVNO) activity as a managed service has grown and we were able to sign an additional managed service agreement with a new MVNO in the U.S. and we see other opportunities in this market. We are looking forward to improving both our top and bottom line performance.”

Shares of MTSL are up more than 50 percent over the past three months.

 

Vringo Inc VRNG surges on news of new technology for Nokia, Facebook

Tuesday, January 31st, 2012

Vringo Inc VRNG surges on newsShares of software provider Vringo Inc (AMEX: VRNG) were up as much as 35% from Mondays closing price of 1.16 after the company announced it has released a new version of Facetones™ customized for the latest mobile devices released by Nokia.

The Facetones app is integrated with Facebook and generates an automatic, visually exciting slideshow of photos displaying your friend’s face and other social content each time you communicate with that friend using your mobile device.  With Vringo’s latest version of Facetones , the application is now fully optimized for Nokia’s Symbian^3 operating system.

The free ad supported app has been a viral hit for Vringo and is closing in on one million downloads. VRNG monetizes this app using Google’s Admob mobile advertising service and it is currently generating 800,000- 900,000 ad impressions per day.

About Vringo

Vringo (AMEX: VRNG) is a provider of software platforms for mobile social and video applications. With its award-winning video ringtone application and other mobile software platforms – including Facetones™, Video Remix and Fan Loyalty – Vringo transforms the basic act of making and receiving mobile phone calls into a highly visual, social experience. Vringo’s video ringtone service enables users to create or take video, images and slideshows from virtually anywhere and turn it into their visual call signature. In a first for the mobile industry, Vringo has introduced its patented VringForward technology, which allows users to share video clips with friends with a simple call.  Vringo’s Facetones™ application creates an automated video slideshow using friends’ photos from social media web sites, which is played each time a user communicates with a friend using a mobile device. Vringo’s Video ReMix application, in partnership with music artists and brands, allows users to create their own music video by tapping on a Smartphone or tablet.  Lastly, Fan Loyalty is a platform that lets users interact, vote and communicate with contestants in reality TV series that it partners with, as well as downloading and setting clips from such shows as video ringtones. Vringo’s video ringtone application has been heralded by The New York Times as “the next big thing in ringtones” and USA Today said it has “to be seen to be believed.” For more information, visit: www.vringo.com

RiT Technologies Ltd. (RITT) rises on news of expansion in Africa

Tuesday, December 6th, 2011

Shares of communications network solutions provider RiT Technologies Ltd. (RITT) rose as much as 47 percent from Monday’s closing price in morning trading on Tuesday. RITT touched a high of $4.75 on Tuesday morning, up from Monday’s closing price of $3.22.

On Tuesday, the Tel Aviv-based RiT Technologies announced that it appointed Peter Leonard to become its Country Sales Manager for South Africa. According to a December 6 press release, RiT’s has built momentum in the region over the past year, beginning with sales to Botswana Teclecommunications Corp. and Vodafone Ghana, and followed by the signing of distribution/marketing agreements with Kenya’s Adwest communications, Mart Network Solutions/Giganet Networking Solutions and Adcare.

RiT Technologies’ president and CEO, Eran Ayzik commented that Africa is a “land in transformation, and a key enabler of change is the ongoing overhaul of its communications and IT networks.”

The company has also increased its presence in China, opening a new office in Shanghai several months ago as part of its strategic focus on the Chinese market.

“The establishment of our second office in Chinademonstrates the success of our strategy to build our business in this rapidly-growing market with high potential for IIM sales,” Ayzik said in a September 13 press release.  “Our unique approach to the market, including our partnership with superbly qualified, well-connected integrators and the offering of customized solutions, has started to pay off, and we believe thatChina will continue growing in importance as a driver of our future sales.”

For the third quarter ended September 30, RiT Technologies reported revenue of $3.7 million, a 38 percent increase over revenue of $2.7 million in the same period a year ago, and a 7 percent sequential increase over the second quarter. The company’s third quarter net loss increased 1 percent to $854,000 or 19 cents per share, compared to a net loss of $843,000 or 26 cents per share for the third quarter of 2010.

“Our third quarter results reflect continued strong momentum in the areas of product development, partnership building and marketing & sales, all of which are creating a solid platform for future growth,” Ayzik said in an October 26 press release. ” Our efforts to broaden our sales and marketing activities are raising RiT’s exposure in emerging markets and enabling us to better serve our customers. This was highlighted during the quarter by our opening of a second sales office in China. And we intend to duplicate this effort in other high growth, emerging regions.”Parallel to our marketing activities, we continue to develop our product portfolio, improve our supply chain and deepen our strategic partnerships in order to well-position the Company for further growth.”

Shares of RITT are down about 6 percent in the past three months.