Shares of technology company, Inteliquent, Inc. (IQNT), hit a new 52-week high of $20.12 on Dec 29 and eventually closed at $20.00. The company delivered a one-year return of about 75.0% and year-to-date return of roughly 80.7%. Average volume of shares traded over the last three months was nearly 404K.
Why the Uptrend?
Inteliquent provides voice telecommunication services to carriers and service providers worldwide. The company offers its services using an all-IP network, which enables it to deliver global connectivity for various media, including voice, data and video.
Inteliquent stands to benefit from the unprecedented growth in high-speed mobile Internet traffic, especially wireless data and video. As IP transit networks are designed to stay ahead of bandwidth requirements to handle the strong growth in global IP traffic, Inteliquent’s services meet the current capacity needs by offering low latency connectivity.
Additionally, the company gained solid momentum from its strong fundamentals and better-than-expected third-quarter 2014 results released on Oct 30. Since then, the stock gained 28.2%.
Inteliquent’s top line increased 7.8% year over year to $54.0 million, primarily due to lower-than-expected price reductions. Also, adjusted EBITDA from continuing operations was $20.0 million, up 17.6% year over year. Non-GAAP earnings came in at 29 cents per share, which surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 8 cents.
The price appreciation can also be attributed to the company’s increased guidance for 2014. Inteliquent now anticipates revenues to increase in the range of $217–$220 million and adjusted EBITDA in the $217–$220 million range.
Inteliquent has an aggressive cost cutting strategy. The company lowered its operating expenses due to continued focus on operational management. Inteliquent’s growth strategies, coupled with cost-control measures, delivered great value to shareholders in 2013 and is expected to do the same in 2014 as well.
Also, Inteliquent has an impressive record of returning cash to shareholders through dividends. The company’sstrong revenue growth, solid financial conditions, good cash flow from operations and reasonable debt levels position it favorably. Also, strong demand for the company’s services has significantly boosted revenues and profits in 2014.
Moreover, the stock has seen a cumulative upward earnings estimate revision of 28.6% for the current quarter and 14.3% for the fiscal year, over the last 60 days. Additionally, the company delivered a massive average earnings surprise of nearly 30.6% over the trailing four quarters.
Inteliquent currently sports a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy).
Other Stocks to Consider
Some well-placed technology stocks include Telenav, Inc. (TNAV), with a Zacks Rank #1, while Alteva, Inc. (ALTV) and Ruckus Wireless, Inc. (RKUS), carry a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).
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