Award-Winning Multidomain Master Data Management (MDM) Solutions Company

EPS from Continuing Operations Were $0.21, Including $0.05 Per Share from Tax Benefits

By Joe Wilcox , Betanews Gartner is just full of bad news that will suck Windows PC manufacturers' thanks out of American Thanksgiving -- and Christmas along with it. Ho Ho Ho Ba Humbug. Today, the analyst firm predicted that based on fourth-quarter PC...

Dell is lagging the computer market, which can only mean one thing: Dude, you got an HP or Lenovo.

Gartner, Inc. (NYSE: IT) has increased the projections for chip sales on the back of much higher PC sales. This has also been greatly boosted by the government stimulus program that has increased PC sales.

Companies like Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. (NYSE: AMD), Intel Corporation (NASDAQ: INTC), Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ: AMAT), which constitute the US semiconductor market will see a $226 billion revenue this year as compared to $255 billion last year, a fall of 11.4 %. However, this is better than the earlier projections of $212 billion that would have been a fall of 17.1% against last year.

It is also being seen that semiconductor companies like Semiconductor HOLDRs (ETF) (NYSE: SMH) are seeing greater growth even as PC sales are seeing double digit growth figures as compared to current low single digit outlook. Even though some of the signs are pointing towards growth it is also true that it seems as if PC sales are tapering down and early 2010 could witness lower sales.

Credit Suisse maintained their “Neutral” rating on Computer Sciences Corporation (NYSE: CSC) and with positive longer term growth trajectory and improving market conditions, the firm raised their price target to $55 from $50 earlier.

The Firm said “For FY10, CSC expects 25-50bps margin expansion derived from improving operations and tighter cost controls. As 1H10 margins currently stand at 7.6%, below FY guidance of 8.5% to 8.8%, the company expects a stronger 2H.”

It also said “CSC hosted its Analyst day in NYC, where it outlined its segment growth strategy to become a 6-8% annual organic revenue grower, with margins at or above 10%, and FCF of at least 90% of net income by FY13. While these long term milestones suggest a path of recovery for CSC, we hold some reservations as it continues to face near term headwinds with cancelled contracts, slower booking ramps, and the large-scale Lorenzo roll-out.”

Computer Sciences Corporation (CSC) is engaged in the information technology (IT) and professional services industry. CSC offers an array of services to clients in the commercial and government markets. Its service offerings include IT and business process outsourcing, and IT and professional services.

Money transfer, location-based services and mobile health monitoring are likely to be among the most widespread mobile applications within the next three years. The increasing adoption of smartphones and the success of app stores has ignited the mobile apps market (follow the link for silicon.com's run down of the top...

We are initiating coverage of Affiliated Computer Services Inc. (ACS) with a Neutral rating.

Headquartered in Dallas , Texas , ACS delivers IT-based services and solutions globally to commercial and government clients in the U.S. The company is a leading provider of business process outsourcing (BPO), information technology (IT) services and system integration services.

With growing revenue, increased earnings momentum, strong bookings, cost-control initiatives and substantial free cash flow, we remain positive on the company’s long term prospects. Moreover, we are encouraged by the ramp of new business signings, which were a record for fiscal 2009 at $1 billion of annual recurring revenue (ARR), a substantial increase of 27% from fiscal 2008. Total contract value is estimated at $4.5 billion.

While acquisitions have enabled revenue to grow at a considerable rate, the pace of acquisitions is aggressive and raises the risk of integration.

The company’s cash flow is strong. Operating cash flow of $877.1 million (13.4% of total revenue) in 2009 is an increase of 6.1% from 2008. However, the high level of debt is a threat to the stock.

As of June 2009, Affiliated’s net cash position (cash less debt, including current portion) was a significant deficit of $1.61 billion or about $16.45 per share (long-term debt to total capitalization ratio of 49%). Moreover, the company has $250 million in senior notes due in June 2010, which will further reduce cash.

The company announced its acquisition by Xerox Corporation for a total of $6.4 billion ($63.11 per ACS share). This represents a 33.6% premium to the closing price of ACS following the announcement. We expect the transaction to close soon, which should be accretive to fiscal 2010 earnings. As a subsidiary of Xerox, Affiliated will operate independently. Trading currently below the acquisition price, we believe the deal to be beneficial for Affiliated.

Thus we set a six-month price target of $63.00, close to the acquisition price. Our target price is 15.1x our 2010 EPS estimate, a discount to the industry.
Read the full analyst report on "ACS"
Zacks Investment Research

by Louis Basenese, Small Cap & Special Situations Expert Thursday, October 22, 2009: Issue #1121 With the healthcare debate still raging in Washington, this should shock you… Healthcare mergers and acquisition (M&A) activity is at an all-time high. You’d think with so much uncertainty surrounding the future of the industry, the dealmakers would be as lonely [...]

(IT) Healthcare M&A Activitiy: Three Healthcare Small Caps Primed For Takeovers

More Insider Trading Arrests Coming; Icahn Offers CIT Bailout; Oil Pushes $80; Treasury Steps In To Support HFAs; N.Y. Times to Cut 100 Newsroom Jobs; Hasbro Shares Fall Amid Soft Sales, Inventory Concerns; Business IT Spending to Return to Growth in 2010 Federal investigators are planning to charge a minimum of 10 securities ...

In order to boost growth in business process outsourcing [BPO] services, Affiliated Computer Services Inc. (ACS) plans to hire 120 employees at its Houston call center. The company also plans to hire approximately 150 people at its Raleigh call center in addition to the 465 additional positions announced in August. Based in Dallas, Affiliated Computer delivers [...]

(ACS) Affiliated Computer Services to Hire Personnel

Recent acquisitions of business intelligence software companies by major information technology (IT) companies have had seismic implications for the corporate landscape, and analysts predict that...

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Information is a hot commodity — literally. The servers, drives and other electronic components that make information technology (IT) possible generate a great deal of heat and consume a surprising...

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Information Technology (IT) is the elephant in the room. Ask most directors what they really know about IT, and you are likely to experience an arctic freeze strong enough to build igloos on the...

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eWEEK brings you a roundup of the top IT stories of the week. Hosted by Executive Editor Stan Gibson, the eWEEK Podcast also includes reports from eWEEK editors, product reviews from eWEEK Labs, commentary from columnists including Technology Editor Peter Coffee, and the latest musings from our own Spencer F. Katt.

Excerpts from Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer's keynote address at Gartner Symposium IT Expo.