What happened

Shares of Sonus Networks (RBBN 3.99%) rose 16.5% in April 2017, according to data from S&P Global Market Intelligence.

So what

No big mysteries behind this move: Sonus jumped thanks to a solid first-quarter earnings report. Sales fell 9.8% year over year but still exceeded Wall Street's projections. The year-ago period's bottom-line profit turned into a net loss, but a smaller one than the consensus estimate. Share prices rose 16% the next day.

Voice over IP concept.

Image source: Getty Images.

Now what

This was the ninth consecutive positive earnings surprise for Sonus. This time, management followed up with strong guidance for the back half of 2017, like many other network solutions specialists are doing these days. The global telecom industry stands at the cusp of several game-changing technology upgrades such as 5G wireless networking, universal IPv6 network addresses, and large-scale availability of consumer-grade gigabit fiber services. All of this is good news for digital communications specialists like Sonus, and the party should start in a few months.