Symmetricom (Nasdaq: SYMM) only managed to meet estimates last quarter, but investors hope that it will surpass expectations this quarter. The company will unveil its latest earnings on Wednesday, Jan. 25. Symmetricom provides precise time solutions to its customers. The company generates, distributes and applies precise time for the communications, aerospace/defense, IT infrastructure, and metrology industries.

What analysts say:

  • Buy, sell, or hold?: Half of analysts think investors should stand pat on Symmetricom while the remaining half rate the stock as a buy. Wall Street has warmed to the stock over the past three months, with analysts increasing their endorsement from hold to moderate buy.
  • Revenue Forecasts: On average, analysts predict $56.7 million in revenue this quarter. That would represent a rise of 35.6% from the year-ago quarter.
  • Wall Street Earnings Expectations: The average analyst estimate is earnings of $0.08 per share.

What our community says:
CAPS All-Stars are solidly backing the stock with 87.5% giving it an "outperform" rating. The community at large agrees with the All-Stars with 81.5% granting it a rating of "outperform." Fools are keen on Symmetricom, though the message boards have been quiet lately with only 19 posts in the past 30 days. Despite the majority sentiment in favor of Symmetricom, the stock has a middling CAPS rating of three out of five stars.

Management:
The company's revenue has now risen for two straight quarters.

Now let's look at how efficient management is at running the business. Traditionally, margins represent the efficiency with which companies capture portions of sales dollars. The following table shows gross, operating, and net margins over the past four quarters. 

Quarter Q1 Q4 Q3 Q2
Gross Margin 46.0% 47.3% 44.6% 34.5%
Operating Margin 7.3% 7.1% 7.1% (14.3%)
Net Margin 4.9% (2.1%) 5.9% (8.4%)

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