Sign Up NowThis Month's Tiny Gems - August 2010

Electro Rent Corp. (NASDAQ: ELRC)
Evolving Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ: EVOL)
Geeknet, Inc. (NASDAQ: LNUX)

 

 

 

Abraxas Petroleum Corp. (NASDAQ: AXAS)

 

Electro Rent Corp. (NASDAQ: ELRC), as focused the efforts of every department to supply quick answers and rapidly fill orders. As one of the world's oldest and the largest rent/lease providers of test and measurement equipment, the company has established relationships with major industry manufacturers that go back decades. Because Electro Rent's annual purchases are often larger than the competition, top-name manufacturers give the company priority and information competitors simply cannot attain.

 

Today, Electro Rent leads the international rent/lease industry through its flexible financial programs, administrative services, and knowledgeable sales/technical staff. It offers its test and measurement equipment to Fortune 500 companies operating in aerospace and defense, semiconductor, electronics, and telecommunications industries. Across North America, Europe, and now Asia, corporations of every size rely on the company for smarter solutions to acquire the tools needed.

 

In recent news, the company was recognized as one of Forbes' "100 Most Trustworthy Companies" for the second year in a row. The annual survey, created for Forbes by independent financial analytics firm Audit Integrity, recognizes companies for consistently demonstrating "transparent and conservative accounting practices and solid corporate governance and management." Daniel Greenberg, Chairman and CEO of Electro Rent stated that the company was honored by the recognition.

 

Holding $270 million in assets with only $40 million in total liabilities, the company has enough cash and equivalents on hand to completely pay off all debts and have $20 million left over. Electro Rent also shines with an annual dividend yield of over 4% with insiders holding nearly a third of the shares outstanding. Currently one analyst covers the stock with a "Strong Buy" rating and $18 price target.

 

 

 

BioScrip, Inc. (NASDAQ: BIOS)

 

Evolving Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ: EVOL) is focused on providing software and services to fixed-line, wireless and IP service providers. Founded approximately 25 years ago, the company has its headquarters in Englewood, Colorado with other offices in the United Kingdom, Germany, India and Malaysia.

 

The company's portfolio includes market-leading activation, dynamic allocation, number portability, number management and mediation products that have been deployed by more than 70 network operators in over 40 countries. Evolving Systems's software currently supports more than 150 million wireless subscribers and 150 million access lines worldwide, enabling communications companies to manage their existing networks and easily migrate to next-generation networks.

 

The first quarter of this year was the company's most profitable quarter since 2005. Net income was up 21% to $1.2 million, revenue was up 10% to $9.7 million, and bookings were up 26% year over year. Evolving Systems also recognized a stronger balance sheet at the end of the first quarter, closing the period with cash and cash equivalents of $8.7 million, up from $5.4 million at year-end. Working capital increased to $5.0 million, the company's highest total in that category as a global company.

 

Of particular interest, insiders have purchased a significant number of shares since January and now hold 32.86% of the shares outstanding while institutions hold 23.40%. The company's balance sheet is very strong with$44.3 million in assets with only $15.1 million in liabilities. As with Electro Rent, one analyst covers this company with a "Strong Buy" rating and a price target significantly higher than the current trading price.

 

 

 

Geeknet, Inc. (NASDAQ: LNUX)

 

Geeknet, Inc. (NASDAQ: LNUX) owns and operates SourceForge, Slashdot, ThinkGeek, Geek.com, ohloh, and freshmeat. The company primarily serves an audience of approximately 45 million tech-obsessed users each month, providing the content, culture, connections, commerce, and various things that geeks crave. Geeknet's headquarter offices are located in California's Silicon Valley, just south of San Francisco.

 

The company's network of websites enables advertisers to efficiently reach a large, highly qualified audience of buyers. This network includes top web sites like Sourceforge.net, the world's largest open source software development and distribution environment; Slashdot, the web destination that pioneered community generated content; and ThinkGeek, the online bazaar that features cool stuff for techno-enthusiasts.

 

n recent news, Geeknet announced that it has launched its new forge development platform. The highly flexible and extendable platform makes software development more efficient, providing a completely redesigned set of tools, including: the issue tracker, wiki, source code management, and discussion system. In addition to the new features, the new forge allows third parties to connect their own developer communities with the global open source development community on SourceForge.

 

With very little debt, the company holds $54.2 million in assets, $23 million of which consists of cash and equivalents. Revenue for the first quarter totaled $4.3 million, up notably from a year earlier when first quarter revenue totaled $3.77 million. Insiders currently hold 30.66% of the shares outstanding while institutions hold 16.00%.