Keeping vigil isn't supposed to be fun, but this is a little bit extreme even for me. I keep watching and hoping that C-COR
No sense in mincing words -- while this quarter wasn't a disaster, it wasn't exactly a banner performance for this smallish vendor of equipment and software to the cable industry. Revenue was up 14%, but gross margins worsened. The operating loss widened, and so did the net loss. While it's true that $0.23 of the $0.33 in loss per share can be explained away as asset impairments, amortization, restructuring, or stock option expense, a 10-cent loss versus a four-cent loss last year is not cause for jubilation in my book.
On a somewhat more promising note, however, bookings finished in excess of $72 million, and the company posted a positive book-to-bill ratio of 1.08. Equally enticing, is it possible that some sort of "critical mass" is afoot in its Solutions business? A book-to-bill ratio of 1.35 on top of solid sequential sales growth is an encouraging sign at least.
I know it probably seems strange to some that I continue to follow this troubled little company. But I think there's a larger picture still to be painted.
Distribution is increasingly the name of the game, and customers are increasingly demanding all sorts of new avenues for content -- whether it's online through Google
It takes some serious intestinal fortitude to buy today, to say nothing of a big appetite for risk. I'll freely admit that my objectivity here is tainted by the fact that I've made money on C-COR stock in the past and would like to own this stock again someday. We're not at the all-clear today, but at least this quarter wasn't a step back.
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Fool contributor Stephen Simpson has no financial interest in any stocks mentioned (that means he's neither long nor short the shares).