INSS recieved a brief mention in a 'Smartmoney' column
in WSJ today. Here is a brief snippett of that article...
You probably haven't heard about many of the companies on
today's screen. But some of these relatively obscure firms
have some big-name clients. For example, International Network Services (INSS), a Sunnyvale,Calif., concern, is a great way to increase your investment in Cisco Systems(CSCO) if you already
like the leading networking vendor.
INSS provides consulting to help information technology shops
set up wide-area networking, and it has an equity investment
from Cisco. Analysts estimate that the company's $1.3 billion
market cap includes about $300 million in value alone for its software, which includes technology for managing networks.
And the cost of goods for its consulting services leaves
about 50% profit before operating expenses.
All in all, then, if you can find a good services outfit,
you may be able to get in on a business with margins closer
to that of a software company, rather than a hardware business
or equipment reseller. Unfortunately, many of the 'pure plays'
in computer services are quite expensive, having seen their
stocks rise in the past six months, thanks to popular
fascination with Y2K stocks generally.
At a recent price of 41, INSS is trading at roughly 172
times trailing earnings and 89 times the 46 cents per
share analysts are expecting this year. Its stock has
risen by about 156% since the end of last year, so you
may have missed the best run on this company. But with
earnings projections of 67 cents per share next year and
$1 in 2000, INSS has one of the higher growth rates in our
screen - 46% in the next three to five years. |
