ISCO on WSJ-article....another boost on monday
Both SCON and CDTS are up big the last 2 days, ISCO will be the next.
by: mastino88 6/3/00 8:17 am
Msg: 7625 of 7627
NEW YORK -- A press release issued by Superconductor Technologies Inc. (SCON) Thursday has apparently sent the Santa Barbara, Calif., company's stock on a two-day tear.
The company said its SuperFilter product captured a 79% share of superconductor product sales to wireless phone service providers in the first quarter of 2000. Superconductor Technologies reported the news in the context of a report about its May 17 annual shareholders meeting.
The company also said that as of April, its installed base of SuperFilter systems totaled 273.
That seemed to be all it took to propel the company's shares to a 46.5% higher close Thursday, a gain of 6 33/64, to 20 33/64. The shares continued climbing Friday, albeit less sharply, recently up 19.1% at 24 7/16, on volume of 1.3 million shares compared with 1.04 million average daily volume.
SuperFilter improves the voice and data quality of cellular phone networks. According to analyst Ian T. Gilson of LH Friend Weinress Frankson, Conductus Inc. (CDTS) and Illinois Superconductor Corp. (ISCO), which both trade on the over-the-counter Bulletin Board, are Superconductor Technologies' two chief competitors in the space.
According to analyst Ian Gilson, Superconductor Technologies' SuperFilter contains low-noise amplifiers that reduce cellular interference between adjacent signals and offer quicker response than with standard filters.
Such technology can benefit cellular operators by reducing the number of dropped calls that get picked up by other operators' cell sites, which often represents a big drain on revenue, Gilson said. It's hoped that the technology will also ease the "churn rate," the 30% or so of subscribers that switch suppliers each year due to annoyances with service. By eliminating the need for users to call the same party more than once, it could also affect the size of the bills they pay at the end of a month.
"These days, practically everyone has a cell phone," Gilson added. "What (SuperFilter) does is make the signal clearer, reduce the number of dropped calls and basically generate more money for cellular operators. It provides them with the quickest return on investment. They can get their money back in less than six months."
With key customers such as U.S. Cellular Corp. (USM) as well as a number of rural providers, Superconductor could see a $1 billion potential market, Gilson said. While the company isn't making any revenue or profit projections, it's expected to become profitable in the next few quarters, he said.
Superconductor currently generates between $7 million and $8 million in annual revenue.
Thursday's press release presented a tangible piece of news for a stock prone to wild swings based on day-trader speculation and rumors.
"The company has demonstrated it's gone beyond the stage of being a development company into being a producing company," Gilson said. "Now we can start counting cell sites and multiply by a dollar number. We can play a numbers game with real numbers."
Superconductor Technologies racked up more than $1 million in SuperFilter sales in the first quarter, Chief Executive Peter Thomas told Dow Jones Newswires. He said he anticipates that figure climbing in the second quarter, which ends June 30.
The average selling price of the product is about $23,000. Superconductor has a small amount of sales to Latin America, which Thomas expects to grow substantially, and plans to develop marketing opportunities in Europe and Asia within the next 18 months.
Thomas is optimistic about applications of the company's technology in high-speed data transmission.
"Our future opportunities are probably more driven by the influx of high-speed data over wireless networks than they are voice," he said. "Because high-speed data over wireless requires very strong, robust channels and that's what we help do."
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