Although we don't believe in timing the market or panicking over market movements, we do like to keep an eye on big changes -- just in case they're material to our investing thesis.
What: Shares of CommScope Holding (COMM -2.63%) roared 20% today after the network infrastructure specialist's quarterly results and outlook topped Wall Street expectations.
So what: The stock has soared in recent months on signs of stabilizing demand, and today's fourth-quarter results -- adjusted earnings per share of $0.30 on sales of $846.6 million versus the consensus of $0.32 and $820 million -- coupled with upbeat guidance only reinforces those good vibes. In fact, operating margin expanded 200 basis points over the year-ago period to 16.7%, suggesting that CommScope's competitive position is steadily strengthening.
Now what: For the full-year 2014, management now expects adjusted earnings to grow by double digits on a mid-single-digit increase in sales, both well above Wall Street's view. "Wireless operators continue to invest in their networks as customers seek out a high quality, ubiquitous mobile broadband experience," said President and CEO Eddie Edwards in a press release. "We believe our industry-leading RF product portfolio, such as our recently announced Andrew SiteRise pre-assembled tower-top cellular solution and small cell distributed antenna solutions, uniquely positions CommScope to address the increasingly complex requirements of wireless networks." Of course, with the stock now up a whopping 50% from its late-October IPO, I'd wait for some the excitement to fade before jumping in.
