For Immediate Release
Chicago, IL – July 10, 2009 – Zacks Equity Research highlights Smith Micro (SMSI) as the Bull of the Day and Internap Network Services (INAP) the Bear of the Day. In addition, Zacks Equity Research provides analysis on AT&T Inc. (T), Centennial Communications Corp. (CYCL) and Verizon (VZ).
Full analysis of all these stocks is available at http://at.zacks.com/?id=2676.
Here is a synopsis of all five stocks:
Smith Micro (SMSI) is a developer of wireless communications software and utility software for multiple OS platforms and phone manufacturers. Although the year 2009 is expected to remain challenging, SMSI will benefit from new PC OEM deal and new carrier wins besides increased adoption of 4G WiMAX connectivity management.
We expect the company to post good results in the second half of 2009 on the basis of new customer wins, strong brand recognition and a robust product pipeline. We believe the company is poised for strong growth driven by the continued strength in Connectivity, albeit the declining consumer spending is likely to be challenging for its consumer business.
We maintain our BUY rating on the stock with our six-month target price of $10.00.
Internap Network Services (INAP) reported weak Q1 2009 results. Although the company has been gaining traction in its data center services, it is witnessing softness in its content delivery network (CDN) and Internet Protocol (IP) business.
Much of this has been caused by the weakening economy, which resulted in a higher churn rate, longer sales cycle and customer reduction in Q109. Though the company is winning over new customers and making important upgrades to CDN, performance has been lackluster for the last few quarters.
Thus, we reiterate our Sell rating on INAP with a price target of $2.50.
Latest Posts on the Zacks Analyst Blog:
AT&T-Centennial Merger Delayed
AT&T Inc.’s (T) much-anticipated acquisition of Centennial Communications Corp. (CYCL), a regional wireless and wireline service provider, has been pushed back to the third quarter. The deal, originally set to close by the second quarter of 2009, is still under regulatory assessment and other procedures.
On November 7, 2008, AT&T announced its acquisition of Centennial for approximately $2.8 billion (including net debt). As per the agreement, shareholders of Centennial will receive $8.50 in cash for each stock they own, amounting to approximately $944 million.
In February 2009, the shareholders of Centennial unanimously approved the acquisition, which is now subject to regulatory clearances of the Department of Justice and Federal Communications Commission. AT&T expects minimal dilution to earnings and cash flow in the first year following the close of the transaction.
With the purchase of Alltel Wireless Corp in early 2009, Verizon (VZ) surpassed AT&T as the largest wireless carrier in North America, serving 86.6 million customers based on the latest quarterly statistics. As such, AT&T is increasingly focusing on acquisitions to expand its subscriber base and coverage zones as the US subscriber population reaches maturity.
Get the full analysis of all these stocks by going to http://at.zacks.com/?id=5507.
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