Gregory Spear Recommends the Following Stocks: FLIR, STCO, UIS
CHICAGO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Oct. 25, 2002--Just because the security industry is hot right now doesn't mean it's a grab bag for weekend investors to get rich quick. Market expert Gregory Spear breaks down the industry for subscribers through his commentary and his recommendations on FLIR Systems (NASDAQ:FLIR), Signal Technology Corporation (NASDAQ:STCO) and Unisys (NYSE:UIS) to make sure that their portfolios are safe from market tantrums. featuredexpert2bw.zacks.com
Here are the highlights from the Featured Expert column:
FLIR Systems (NASDAQ:FLIR) manufactures infrared imaging systems for a variety of applications, including public safety, defense, navigation, electronic newsgathering and search and rescue. Last week, Flir introduced a new line of thermal imaging cameras for the burgeoning US and international security market. Designed specifically for life and safety, security, and surveillance applications, this new infrared camera provides clear images in total darkness and through fog, dust and smoke -- conditions under which standard visible cameras or cameras with ordinary infrared illumination typically fail. Also last week, Flir wowed the Street by reporting fantastic earnings - a 73% boost in the third quarter, beating a Thomson First Call estimate of 52 cents by about a dime, on a 37% increase in revenue. The stock is on a tear and has already run 50% from its yearly low in the last 8 trading sessions.
Signal Technology Corporation (NASDAQ:STCO) is a play on the developing need for global intelligence. In the last month, the company divested itself of a commercial fixed wireless component business to focus on defense and security applications. They recently announced a $4.1 million contract from a division of the U.S. Department of Defense for the first phase of a defense and homeland security electronics program. The company has been selected to lead a diverse team of academics and industry professionals that will develop a system of networked, ultra- miniaturized microelectronic sensors for intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance applications. Signal, with a market cap of just $129 million, recently guided the Street to expect solid growth in the second half of 2002 in excess of the $49.5 million in defense bookings logged during the first half of the year. The Massachusetts based company said that it expects its year-to-date book-to- bill ratio through the third quarter to be a little better than 1:1 and to remain steady in the fourth quarter.
Unisys (NYSE:UIS) is a $2.6 billion market cap IT conglomerate: just the kind of business that has been doing poorly in the last year. The company provides information technology services, including outsourcing services, for the financial, transportation and communications industries and for government agencies, but that has been a dead market. However, UIS succeeded in getting a multi-year deal to build an advanced information technology infrastructure for the Transportation Security Administration, valued at $244 million. The stock has been in a multi-year downtrend but gapped up strongly on the recent news. Spear thinks there is a good chance this will be the catalyst for the stock to break the downtrend over the next few months.
Market expert Gregory Spear has also upgraded a host of other stocks to his best buy list. To find out which ones, and to get complete recommendations on the above-mentioned issues, just click: featuredexpert3bw.zacks.com |
