found this on yahoo:
RSA Security Up 13.8% After Prudential Upgrade
By Donna Fuscaldo
NEW YORK -- Shares of RSA Security Inc. (RSAS) surged 13% in afternoon trading Tuesday, after the company was upgraded to a strong buy from hold by Prudential Securities.
In a research note, Prudential analysts Paul Merenbloom and Alan Wargaski said they upgraded the security company because the proliferation of business-to-business initiatives is creating strong demand for increased access and security.
RSA is "making the right moves to position themselves as a key enabler of e-commerce and create value for shareholders by exploiting key global trends," the analysts said in the report. Both analysts believe that RSA will find a "variety of new and expanded roles within corporate, government and even academic environments."
Shares of the Bedford, Mass.-based security company were recently trading up 16.2%, or 11 13/16, at 84 3/4 on volume of 2.3 million shares. Average daily volume is 1 million shares.
Prudential Securities also upgraded RSA Security because the market for the company's core identification and authentication products, called tokens, is on the rise, said the research note.
"Token sales continue to accelerate from 1997 and 1998 levels of 200,000 and 400,000 tokens per quarter, respectively, to over 500,000 per quarter," said the analysts. Prudential remains confident that RSA Security will be able to maintain an average selling price of $41 to $42 per token unit through the end of the year.
RSA's Keon enterprise-security fabric is poised for strong market reception and represent a new market for RSA to enter, another reason for the upgrade, said the analyst in the research note.
"Although the past several years have proven an uneven road for RSA's acquisition and integration efforts, Keon appears market-ready," the report said. The Prudential analysts added that the Keon system is now in production.
-Donna Fuscaldo; Dow Jones Newswires; 201-938-5174 |
