Beltway Bet: NICE Systems
Posted: August 28, 2008 Filed under: Investing, Technology, Washington Leave a comment »The last 10 years have been quite a ride for shareholders in Israel’s NICE Systems, a developer of data-analysis technology for use in security and customer service. The Nasdaq-listed stock jumped to a tech-boom high of $50 in March 2000, only to sink to $3 per share a year and a half later. Since then, it has gradually recovered and now trades at $31.
Equity analyst Daniel Ives of Arlington, Va.’s Friedman, Billings, Ramsey & Co., believes NICE Systems’ (nasdaq: NICE) stock will continue to climb back toward its 2000 peak.
“They’re a well-run company,” he says. “The stock is undervalued based on growth.” (Note: Friedman, Billings, Ramsey makes a market in NICE Systems shares but does no banking work for the company).
One reason for his optimism: the potential in NICE’s security and surveillance business, which accounted for 24% of its $517 million in sales for the year ended December 2007. Ives thinks NICE can build on its big wins with government customers like the Federal Aviation Administration and the city of New York.
Full story at Forbes.com
Solar Entrepreneur To Feds: Step It Up
Posted: August 20, 2008 Filed under: Environment, Washington Leave a comment »At the upcoming U.S. political conventions, it’s a safe bet you’ll hear more than a little bluster from Democratic and Republican parties about the need for federal “investment”–don’t call it a subsidy–in renewable energy technologies such as solar, wind and so on.
A lot of hot air? It won’t be for Frank van Mierlo, co-founder and president of Lexington, Mass.-based 1366 Technologies. The young company has raised $12.4 million in venture money in support of its mission to make solar power cost-competitive with coal by 2012.
Key to that mission: a more vigorous role for the U.S. government. “There is no way that we can change the energy resources in our society without real leadership from the government,” says van Mierlo. “The current administration, it’s sad to say, has not provided that leadership.”
Government Tech Stocks: Don’t Fear November
Posted: August 14, 2008 Filed under: Investing, Washington Leave a comment »Washington D.C. – U.S. Air Force Captain turned stock analyst, Raymond James’ Brian Gesuale keeps tabs on 14 companies selling technology or technology services to government agencies–military and civilian. One issue he’s not too concerned about these days: McCain versus Obama.
“The general message we’re putting out there is, ‘Don’t be afraid of politics and the election this year,’ ” he says.
That advice isn’t for every defense investor, however. Gesuale thinks stocks of defense giants like Lockheed Martin (nyse: LMT – news – people ) or Northrop Grumman (nyse: NOC – news – people ), as well as companies who sell war “consumables” (ammunition and so on), could well get knocked around by electoral outcomes.
In contrast, Gesuale suggests the stocks he covers–small- and mid-cap technology concerns–likely stand only to benefit from a changing of the political guard. One reason is that these smaller players tend to suffer disproportionately from budget uncertainties. When Congress and the Bush administration battle over military spending priorities, as they did over supplemental war funding earlier this summer, the odds rise that money for new technology will get squeezed or cut.
Full story at Forbes.com
Natural Gas: Booming In The Beltway
Posted: August 1, 2008 Filed under: Environment, Washington Leave a comment »Washington, D.C. – The natural gas industry has been turning up the heat this summer in the nation’s capital. Advocates are explaining to lawmakers that while oil is expensive, scarce and imported, there’s enough natural gas in the U.S. supply to last more than 100 years.
One example: Aubrey McClendon, Forbes 400 member and chief executive of Chesapeake Energy (nyse: CHK – news – people ), the second-largest independent producer of natural gas in the country. Speaking at a Congress hearing Wednesday, he sounded more like someone in the business of political snake oil.
“Imagine if tomorrow you could announce a new energy plan that would in one stroke cut your constituent’s gasoline bill in half, reduce our oil imports, improve our air quality, enhance national security, strengthen the dollar, reduce greenhouse gas emissions and create tens of thousands of new jobs in the U.S,” McClendon said. “I believe your upcoming reelection chances would be even higher than they already are.”
Smooth. McClendon and other panelists at the hearing, convened by the House Select Committee on Energy Independence and Global Warming, want Congress to know that natural gas can have a more prominent role in America’s energy future.
Several lawmakers seemed convinced, describing natural gas as “a precious resource,” a bridge to a renewable energy future–and a replacement for coal.
