NYTimes:Outlook Brightens for Ciena After Catastrophic '98 Drop
By LAWRENCE M. FISHER
The beleaguered shares of the Ciena Corp. rebounded Friday after the company reported a surprising return to profitability in its first fiscal quarter. Lost sales and a scuttled acquisition by Tellabs Operations Inc. last September had eroded much of Ciena's once-stellar valuation. ...
Recently, though, analysts say the company may have turned a corner. Last week Ciena said it had received a three-year exclusive contract from Telemonde Ltd. a London-based wholesaler of data and communications services. Telemonde forecasted a $200 million roll-out of Ciena equipment over the life of the contract. Separately, Ciena said that extended its existing relationship with Ciena as the supplier of optical networking products for a European network to be built through April 2000.
"It sure looks like it's headed in the right direction," said Paul Silverstein, an analyst at BancBoston Robertson Stephens. "From a 50,000-foot level, what you have here is a company that remains at the cutting edge of technology in a very hot, fast-growing marketplace."
But before declaring Ciena in the clear, he said, "I'd be more comfortable seeing another quarter of income." ...
nytimes.com
Go Ciena,
Michael |
