[Due diligence]
Jas and Rob --
Good to see you both here. I've been digging for the past several days and have had help from a Spectrum shareholder who's had stock for three years and has excellent contacts.
First, though, here's a URL I missed, with trade press links:
spectrumsignal.com
I'm convinced SSPIF's technology is solid, witness TI's close ties and impressive customer list, and specifically, check out their Hurricane chip.
<<<
The high-performance of Spectrum's new 'C6x product family hinges on the Hurricane, a new PCI interface bridge chip. This chip was exclusively developed by Spectrum to increase I/O dataflow to and from the PCI interface at a sustained transfer rate of 132MB/s, while permitting the design of a compact and efficient line of products. This performance feature is complemented by extended I/O capabilities including industry-standard Industry PackT and PMC modules, processor expansion modules (PEM), and DSP~LINK3 (Spectrum's secondary high-speed data path between the DSP board and peripheral I/O boards). These features allow Spectrum's 'C6x solutions to fully optimize the inherent performance and flexibility advantages of the 'C6x architecture. >>>
I take this to mean this chip unclogs the bottleneck at the PCI interface. Who else has a similar product? How critical is this to TI? Will TI be content to partner or does this mean it's a prime candidate for take-over? I don't do take-over plays, so this certainly isn't why I'd buy the stock. I would, however, get excited if this Hurricane chip is ahead of the competition.
Looking at the financials, I've heard rev estimates of $40M for '97 and $100M by 2000.
How about management? I think they own 12%, though I'd have to verify this number. There are 9M shares outstanding and 7M in the float.
The ony MM I know of is Smith Barney and as for coverage, PMG is working closely with the company though they've not issued a research report yet. Charlie Robbins is the analyst and Dick Thatcher the investment banker. Either can be reached at 800-338-2778.
The contact at SSPIF is Susan Schoenhals at 800-663-8986.
I'd be grateful if someone with a technology background would ask about their V.34 developments and how they differ from the competition. I could ask, but wouldn't understand the answers as well as a techie.
This won't stop me from attending the DSP seminar in S.D. on Dec. 12. :))
Cheers!
Pat |
