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MRV up as value investors jump in
Analyst: People are starting to recognize company
By Brenon Daly, CBS MarketWatch
Last Update: 2:42 PM ET Dec 29, 1999 Pulse Report
CHATSWORTH, Calif. (CBS.MW) -- Shares of MRV Communications rose 10 percent as investors continued to load up on the stock as a cheap way to play the red-hot networking sector.
"This is a sum-of-the-parts story," said Dan Schwartz, a money manager at York Capital Management. MRV (MRVC: news, msgs) has units that produce data networking products, routers and even a has a Web site that allows businesses to buy and sell tech products.
Schwartz added MRV is looking to sell shares in its optical access business. The move, which would pump up MRV's balance sheet, could come early next year, he added.
"People are finally starting to recognize this company," says Schwartz, who owns a "decent-sized" chunk of shares. The stock has jumped five-fold over the past half-year. Shares jumped 5 9/16, or 9.4 percent to 65 in afternoon trading.
But Schwartz added that MRV's valuation still lags that of other optical networking companies. E-Tek (ETEK: news, msgs) has a market cap of $8.6 billion and JDS Uniphase (JDSU: news, msgs) enjoys a $57.8 billion market cap, compared to $1.8 billion for MRV.
Brenon Daly is a reporter for CBS MarketWatch.
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