MOre on ILNK and PCTL (two of my calls over the last week):
From the street.com:
What exactly is I-Link (ILNK:Nasdaq - news), and why is it trading so heavily?
Interesting question.
Based in Draper, Utah, I-Link is an enhanced voice and data service provider that uses Internet protocol, or IP, to help unify communication over its network. Last Thursday, it announced that it has reached an agreement in principle with Big Planet, a division of Nu Skin (NUS:NYSE - news). Per the deal, which hasn't been signed yet, Big Planet would obtain the distribution rights of I-Link's products and services.
In the week since, investor interest in the company has been building, sending day session volumes skyrocketing. The day after the deal was announced, it traded on a million shares volume. Two days later, it traded on 3.7 million shares. During today's day session, it rose 2 3/32, or 46.2%, to 6 5/8 on 3.6 million shares. That volume is unusually heavy. The company rarely breaks the six-digit volume barrier -- that is, until recently.
So why all the interest in a company with a $152 million market cap?
I-Link's CFO, John Ames, said much of the recent interest was due to the Big Planet agreement, which hasn't yet been formalized in contract form.
"Last Thursday, we made an agreement of principles and terms with Big Planet," Ames said. "A lot of this is just anticipation of that finally closing."
When will this contract be signed?
"We're down to very near-term closure in signing the Big Planet contract," Ames said.
Tonight, investors sent the stock to the top of Island ECN's most-active list. It traded on 1.4 million shares and was relatively flat after today's big gain. I-Link gained 5/16 to 7.
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PictureTel (PCTL:Nasdaq - news) rose 1 15/16 to 7 3/4 on 76,000 shares on Island after announcing a deal with a telecommunications company whose name ends in "T&T."
And if you just guessed AT&T (T:NYSE - news), go take a lap.
You're wrong.
The company announced a strategic partnership with New T&T, a Hong Kong-based telco and child of Wharf Holdings. In the press release announcing the partnership, PictureTel said "the two companies will work together to deliver Web-based application services." For those of you without a jargon-to-English dictionary, think "streaming video."
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