Motley Fool Hidden Gems
recommendation Atheros Communications
Only weeks after buying GPS chip specialist u-Nav and thus entering yet another product area that is related to, but not quite the same as, its own core competency, Atheros gave us more evidence that the new direction is working. Solid profits and 8% sequential revenue growth capped a pretty good year that nevertheless fell a bit short of my hopes for Atheros in 2007.
The stock price increased by 20% in the past year. That's far behind dark horses such as information security specialist Zix
In the traditional conference call, management boasted that its diversification strategy was getting results, with the company's additional inroads into six product categories that range from Bluetooth technology to Wi-Fi and GPS. CEO Craig Barratt estimates that his company faces a total addressable market of more than $5 billion in 2008.
There's plenty of competition for slices of that $5 billion pie, from tiny Metalink
Move aside, guys. Atheros wants some pie.
Further Foolishness: