After spending much of the past six months at a less-than-impressive three-star rank, Brocade Communications Systems (Nasdaq: BRCD) has impressed enough top-performing members of our 160,000-strong Motley Fool CAPS community to climb back up to four stars. A total of 686 members have given their opinion on the data storage solutions firm, with many of them offering analysis and commentary explaining the recent optimism.

Brocade's shares have taken a few hits in the past six months -- first after potential suitors like Hewlett-Packard (NYSE: HPQ) and Oracle (Nasdaq: ORCL) showed no signs of making a play for the company, and then more recently after Brocade lowered its forward guidance. But many CAPS members are looking past the short-term setbacks and see numerous positive signs that they think will benefit the company long-term. The company is coming off of a quarter that put Brocade back in the black compared to a loss a year ago, while generating 25% revenue growth and positive free cash flow. Brocade also sees further growth ahead this year, and some investors remain bullish on its focus to ramp up its Ethernet business to compete with the likes of Cisco Systems (Nasdaq: CSCO) and Juniper Networks (Nasdaq: JNPR) -- despite the segment not growing as fast as planned.  

CAPS members also like the strength that Brocade has shown in its storage segment and see potential for it to continue to expand sales. The segment generated close to 14% revenue growth in its recent quarter while taking market share from competitors -- not too shabby at a time when many companies struggle just to stay afloat. And as overall IT spending is expected to gain momentum this year after many companies have been holding off in the face of a dire economy, Brocade expects to see continued accelerating demand for data storage solutions. With a solid lineup of OEM partners including companies like IBM (NYSE: IBM), Dell, and EMC (NYSE: EMC), and participation in a sector that's poised for growth, CAPS members see the odds tilting in Brocade's favor.

Do you think Brocade deserves its raised status? Add your thoughts in the comments box below on this page, or head over to CAPS to rate the company and check out all the information and opinions the community offers, absolutely free.