Posts Tagged ‘communications’

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Giga-Tronics, Inc. (Nasdaq: GIGA) Buzz Stock of the Day

Thursday, October 29th, 2009

Shares of Giga-Tronics, Inc. (Nasdaq: GIGA) were up more than 44 percent today from yesterday’s close, touching on a high of $2.78 after the company reported profit for the second quarter, marking the fourth, consecutive, profitable quarter for the company.

For the quarter ending September 26, 2009, Giga-Tronics reported a net profit of $373,000 or 8 cents per share, compared to a net loss of $540,000 or 11 cents per share for the same period last year. Net sales for the quarter increased 25 percent to $4.6 million compared to $3.6 million for the same quarter a year ago. Giga-Tronics’ gross margin improved to $2.1 million, an increase of $775,000 over the same period last year. As a percentage of net sales, gross margin improved 9.4 percent to 45.7 percent, from 36.3 percent in the second quarter of fiscal 2009. Orders increased to $4.8 million in the second quarter from $3 million for the second quarter of fiscal 2009. Cash and cash equivalents at September 26, 2009 were $1,345,000 compared to $1,551,000 as of June 27, 2009.

Giga-Tronics, Inc. specializes in instruments, sub-systems, and sophisticated microwave components that have broad applications in both commercial communications and defense electronic s systems. The company focuses on three principal product areas: test measurement instrumentation, signal switching solutions, and microwave components.

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Starent Networks (Nasdaq: STAR) Buzz Stock of the Day

Tuesday, October 13th, 2009

Shares of mobile infrastructure equipment maker Starent Networks (Nasdaq: STAR) soared nearly 19 percent in morning trading after telecommunications giant Cisco Systems, Inc. (Nasdaq: CSCO) announced it would acquire Starent for $2.9 billion to strengthen its high-speed wireless services business. Cisco will pay a 20 percent premium, or $35 a share in cash for Starent.

The deal is expected to close in the first half of CY2010. Cisco anticipates the acquisition will hurt earnings for fiscal years 2010 and 2011, but believes it will add to its bottom line in fiscal 2012.

Starent Networks marks the second multi-billion dollar deal for Cisco in less than three weeks. It follows the company’s Oct. 1 announcement that it plans to buy video conferencing equipment maker Tandberg for $3 billion.

“We are very pleased that Starent Networks will be joining the Cisco team, and we believe their products and engineering talent will greatly benefit our Service Provider customers as they build out their Mobile Internet offerings,” said Cisco Chief Executive Officer John Chambers in a statement.

Starent makes network equipment that fits between the radio access network and the core network of mobile phone service providers that include Sprint and Verizon Wireless. Cisco said there was some overlap in their products, but that their offerings would for most part be complementary.

After the deal closes, Starent will become part of Cisco’s service provider business, but as a new Mobile Internet Technology Group, headed by current Starent CEO Ashraf Dahod, who stands to gain substantially from the acquisition. As of Starent’s proxy filing in January, Dahod owned 6.9 million shares. At Cisco’s proposed price of $35 a share, Dahod’s stake would be worth approximately $241 million today.

The acquisition of Starent has raised some red flags and is currently being investigated by Levi & Korsinsky, LLP, for possible breaches of fiduciary duty and other violations of state law. For the year ending December 31, 2008, the Company reported revenues of $254,076,000 and net income of $60,524,000 as compared to revenues of $145,797,000 and net income of $5,485,000 for the year ended December 31, 2007.

The investigation looks into whether Starent’s Board of Directors breached their fiduciary duties to Starent shareholders by agreeing to sell the Company at an unfair price.

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CalAmp Corp. (NasdaqGS: CAMP) Buzz Stock of the Day

Thursday, October 8th, 2009

Shares of wireless communication solutions provider, CalAmp Corp.(NASDAQ: CAMP) jumped more than 18 percent in morning trading Thursday, reaching a high of $2.60 from the previous day’s close of $2.20.

The boost could be attributed to the company’s second quarter conference call scheduled for after the closing bell today.

“Based on our current forecast, we believe fiscal 2010 second quarter consolidated revenues will show a sequential increase and be in the range of $23 to $25 million, with a GAAP basis net loss in the range of $0.06 to $0.10 per diluted share,” said CalAmp’s president and chief executive officer, Rick Gold in the company’s first quarter earnings release.

Based in Oxnard, Calif., CalAmp provides wireless communications solutions that enable anytime/anywhere access to critical data and content. The Company serves customers in the public safety, industrial monitoring and controls, mobile resource management and direct broadcast satellite markets.

The Company’s Wireless DataCom business segment recently inked a deal to provide a WiMAX version of its Dataradio Sentry 4G™ Wireless IP Router to Elster, a leading provider of smart grid solutions. CalAmp’s WiMAX solution is expected to provide better performance for Elster’s smart grid activities including advanced metering, demand response and distribution automation as well as mobile applications such as fleet management.

“CalAmp’s Dataradio Sentry 4G Wireless IP Router provides industrial/utility-grade, and secure multi-network wireless connectivity for Elster’s solution as well as for other devices,” said Rick Nozel, vice president of sales and marketing for CalAmp’s wireless networks business. “With our combined product portfolio, utilities can deploy a single network infrastructure capable of serving the unified communications needs for both their mobile fleet applications as well as fixed grid applications like AMI, demand response, transmission, substation, and distribution monitoring and automation.”

Smart grid technology like Elster’s has revolutionized energy consumption monitoring by combining wireless technology, sensors and software, as well as ‘smart meters’ implemented for tracking.

The IP-based smart grid model helps customers understand overall consumption patterns and allows for more intelligent decisions about power use. Additionally, the smart grid technology will also help to enhance reliability and energy efficiency, lower power-line losses and provide utilities with the ability to remotely automate services.

“There are increasing indications that our business is in the early stages of a recovery,” said Gold. “We now expect that CalAmp will be profitable on a GAAP basis in the second half of fiscal 2010 with quarterly revenues in the range of $26 to $32 million.”

CalAmp shares are up nearly 200 percent in the past 3-months.

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ADC Telecommunications (ADCT) – Buzz Stock of the Day

Wednesday, August 12th, 2009

Shares of network equipment maker ADC Telecommunications (NASDAQ: ADCT) jumped nearly 25 percent in morning trading on Wednesday after the company raised its earnings forecast for the July quarter and said it plans to cut more costs by expanding its global restructuring.

ADC said it expects third-quarter per-share earnings of between $0.05 and $0.10 on revenue of around $280 million, which is higher than the company’s previously forecasted range of a loss of $0.04 per share and earnings of $0.04 cents a share, on revenue in the range of $265 million and $290 million.

“Today’s announcement is a reflection of our ongoing strategic commitment to managing through the global recession, taking actions to transform our business and strengthening our competitive position,” Chief Executive Robert E. Switz said in a statement.

The better-than-previously expected projections were largely due to reducing the company’s workforce by 400 jobs, compared to the 100-130 layoffs originally stated. In June, ADC announced plans to cut jobs in Europe, the Middle East and Africa. On Wednesday, the company said it has increased the downsizing to include the United States, Latin America and Asia.

The new total represents about 4 percent of ADC’s total workforce, and is part of a company-wide restructuring plan that will cost the company between $24 million and $34 million.

The company, which has been hit hard by the recession, suffered a loss of $0.11 per share for the quarter ending May 1, compared to earnings of $0.14 per share for the same quarter last year.

ADC said in a statement that the efforts made over the past year to realign business operations are expected to continue improving the Minnesota-based company’s near term financial performance as well as increase long-term earnings potential.

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Buzz Stock of the Day – Alvarion (ALVR)

Tuesday, June 23rd, 2009

Shares of Alvarion Ltd. (Nasdaq: ALVR) were up nearly 10 percent today after the Israeli provider of wireless broadband technology and services announced it was chosen to deploy a nationwide mobile wireless data network in Italy.

“This contract confirms Alvarion’s Mobile WiMAX solution as the most advanced solution in the market, and our leading position as a long-term partner for WiMAX,” said Alvarion’s CEO, Tzvika Friedman.


Given Italy`s 58 million highly-dense population, WiMAX is the most economical and high-performance technology to deliver 4G broadband to businesses and residential subscribers in a wide geographic area, according to Reuters. Alvarion`s 4Motion is an advanced and field-proven solution for delivering innovative WiMAX services for a range of broadband applications in rural, suburban and urban environments.

Lawrence M. Harris, an analyst with CL King & Associates, said in a note to investors the value of the deal is more than $20 million over the next two to three years. “The Aria announcement does not change our near-term forecast for Alvarion, but adds to our confidence in the company’s outlook,” wrote the analyst, who rates Alvarion “accumulate” with a target price of $5.

On June 17, the company said it signed a deal worth more than $100 million over five years with U.S. rural broadband wireless operator Open Range Communications Inc.

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