11:15 ET ****** APPLIED MICROSYSTEMS CORP (APMC) 11 +1. Wall Street analyst are sounding the horn on this stock. This morning, alone, two firms have upgraded the issue to "buy" from "hold." The moves by Hambrecht & Quist and Needham follow an announcement yesterday by Applied Micro. of an OEM agreement that specifically integrates the company's CodeTEST product into Wind River Systems' (WIND 41 1/4 -1/2) Tornado development environment. The new, software-only version of CodeTEST will enable developers to improve the quality of their C/C++ code by identifying software errors easily, reliably and cost effectively. By pinpointing errors earlier in the development cycle, CodeTEST for Tornado thereby reduces the time necessary to deliver applications to market. Hambrecht & Quist believes the deal is indicative of the momentum the CodeTEST product has been building, following what was initially a slow start. The firm is expecting APMC to earn $0.34 a share in 1997 and expand that figure by 53%, to $0.52 a share, in fiscal 1998. According to Needham, APMC will make $0.29 in FY97 (P/E 38), $0.53 in FY98 (P/E 21), and $0.70-$0.75 (P/E 15-16) a share in FY99. But given that the company's CodeTEST pipeline is strengthening, the firm believes that its estimates might be on the conservative side. As for a price target, Needham sees 6-12 month upside of 27%, based on the firm's price target of $14 a share.
- from Briefing.com |
