Shares of ADC Telecommunications Inc. rose Tuesday after the networking equipment maker reported a narrower quarterly loss and an analyst upgraded the company, predicting sales growth will resume later this year.
Late Monday, ADC reported a fiscal first-quarter net loss of $11.2 million, or 11 cents per share, compared with a loss of $49.7 million, or 47 cents per share, in the same period a year earlier. Excluding one-time items, it earned 2 cents per share.
Revenue fell to $265.6 million from $299.7 million.
Analysts expected the company to break even on revenue of $267.3 million, according to a Thomson Reuters survey. Analysts typically exclude one-time items from their estimates.
For its fiscal second quarter, ADC said it expects per share results to range from a loss of 4 cents to a profit of 6 cents, including an estimated noncash amortization expense of 5 cents per share. The company projected revenue of $260 million to $280 million.
Analysts project earnings of 5 cents per share and revenue of $275.5 million.
CL King analyst Lawrence Harris on Tuesday upgraded the company to "Strong Buy" from "Accumulate" and raised his share price target to $10 from $8.
He said the company is keeping a tight lid on costs, and the stock is trading at low levels not seen since fiscal 2005.
Harris added ADC is spotting signs of increasing worldwide demand for projects to string fiber-optic lines to the home — a development the company didn't expect to see until 2011.
The analyst said these projects should start to boost ADC's revenue in the second half of 2010 and offset any decreases in orders from customer Verizon Communications Inc.
He increased his 2010 earnings and revenue estimates for 2010, and his revenue forecast for 2011.
Separately, Jefferies analyst George Notter said ADC management has made significant progress in getting the company's network solutions unit back on track to profitability.
He also believes the federal government's national broadband plan to make high-speed Internet service affordable to all Americans should give ADC's business a boost starting in late 2010 and running through 2012.
Shares of ADC, based in Eden Prairie, Minn., climbed $1.04, or 19.3 percent, to $6.42 in afternoon trading. The stock has ranged from $2.47 to $9.78 over the past year.