Taking a Look at TiVo

It seems like there's never a dull moment following TiVo (Nasdaq: TIVO). If you ardently follow this stock, recent months have been interesting (to say the least), and the past several weeks have given investors a whole lot to digest.

As well as being an all-around interesting case to contemplate, TiVo is a Motley Fool Stock Advisor recommendation, so we Fools have good reason to keep an eye on the company's latest goings-on.

Several months ago, there was cause for some celebration when TiVo inked a deal with a long-term threat we all know as cable giant Comcast (Nasdaq: CMCSA). That deal gave investors reason to hope for TiVo's continued success, considering its only similar partner had been DirecTV (NYSE: DTV). Its deal with DirecTV was lucrative and important while it lasted, but it has recently begun to phase out.

Some Fools think that TiVo might actually be channelingGoogle (Nasdaq: GOOG). Although TiVo has wooed customers by allowing them to fast-forward through commercials, finding new ways to sell advertising, or even offering targeted advertising as Google has done, could be an important new source of bread and butter.

TiVo's stock jumped last week despite a lack of any fundamental change. The increase was attributed to an analyst's positive comments about the company's future. However, many of you may already know that Fools generally don't get too excited about an appreciating stock price fueled by so little that's concrete.

On the other hand, though, last week TiVo did deliver some heartening quarterly financial results, complete with a loss much narrower than expected -- giving investors some positive news. That was a nice improvement from last quarter.

Where are we now? There are reasons for people to believe that TiVo, given its history of innovative thinking and easy-to-use technology, can make it through the morass it has experienced. There are also reasons for others to believe that this stock is about as speculative as it gets. Unfortunately, despite the company's impressive technology base, rivals have easily copied TiVo's groundbreaking service (though with far less aplomb).

Ever since rivals increasingly encroached on TiVo's territory, it was clear that the stock carried a certain degree of risk, but watching this scrappy company fight for its place as top dog has been interesting. Will its outlook improve, as longtime Fool Rick Munarriz predicted back in January (a prediction that has recently proven true)? What do you think?

TiVo is a Motley Fool Stock Advisor recommendation. For more of what we think are long-term winners, take a no-risk 30-day trial -- for free. Every month, you'll get two stock picks and market-beating advice from Fool co-founders David and Tom Gardner. If you'd like to talk about TiVo's future, join the many Fools who like to talk TiVo on our TiVo discussion board .

Although Alyce Lomax is a content TiVo customer, she does not own shares of TiVo or any of the other companies mentioned. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.