Tag Archives: Cisco Systems

VirnetX Patents Validated, but Cisco Didn't Infringe

By Rich Duprey, The Motley Fool

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Although Internet security software and technology firm VirnetX had its patents validated over prior art during a patent infringement lawsuit , a jury said the routers made by Cisco that run virtual private networks didn’t infringe on them.

VirnetX’s patents cover technology for secure communications, including 4G LTE security. The jury held that despite Cisco’s claims that VirnetX’s ‘504, ‘211, and ‘135 patents were invalid because of prior art, the jury rejected that assertion, and also said Cisco failed to prove that VirnetX’s ‘759 patent was invalid.

However, the jury also determined that VirnetX did not prove that Cisco’s products infringed the patents in this case, either.

As a result of the decision, though, VirnetX will continue to license its 4G technology to the 4G LTE mobile markets. “While we are disappointed that the jury did not find infringement in our suit with Cisco, we are pleased that the Jury found our patents to be valid,” said VirnetX CEO and president Kendall Larsen.

The tech firm also noted that the infringement case it won in November against Apple, where it was awarded $368 million, was not effected by the jury’s decision.

The article VirnetX Patents Validated, but Cisco Didn’t Infringe originally appeared on Fool.com.

Fool contributor Rich Duprey owns shares of Apple and Cisco Systems. The Motley Fool recommends Apple and Cisco Systems. The Motley Fool owns shares of Apple. Try any of our Foolish newsletter services free for 30 days. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

Copyright © 1995 – 2013 The Motley Fool, LLC. All rights reserved. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

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Source: FULL ARTICLE at DailyFinance

Can VirnetX's Legal Strategy Survive Losing to Cisco?

By Anders Bylund, The Motley Fool

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Technology licensing firm VirnetX lost a crucial patent infringement case against networking giant Cisco Systems on Thursday. The stock plunged 28% in regular trading hours and continued to sink in after-hours action. Cisco shares barely budged on the news.

It’s black and blue on white: Not guilty at all.

The verdict (link opens PDF from the free RECAP court-tracker service) found VirnetX’s secure networking patents to be valid, but the company failed to prove that Cisco had infringed on any of them. The jury was deadlocked in the afternoon but ordered back to further deliberations by Judge Leonard Davis. It didn’t take long after that to reach a unanimous decision.

The jury spent just one day deliberating the case, but jurors were active in sending notes back to the courtroom to get more information. That’s a stark contrast to the rushed and ultimately flawed jury process in last summer’s Apple vs. Samsung trial. In that case, the jury foreman seemed to have decided on his own that Samsung needed to be punished, and then convinced the other jurors to support his scheme. Judge Lucy Koh later found the $1.1 billion damage award there unenforceable, slashing it by half.

That won’t happen here, since Cisco was found to owe VirnetX exactly $0.

Speaking of Apple, VirnetX won a $368 million damages award against the Cupertino company last November in front of the same judge and using the same patent claims (but with a different jury) as the Cisco case. The stock has consistently traded about 20% higher since that verdict, and investors were clearly hoping for another big payday from Cisco. If nothing else, another victory would have affirmed that VirnetX’s litigation-heavy strategy is working and perhaps forced many more settlements as well as juicy licensing agreements in the future.

Now that strategy is up in the air. I expect VirnetX to appeal this decision, because the company’s future depends on looking invincible in court. Don’t cry too hard for VirnetX’s shareholders, though. Shares have still more than quadrupled in value over the last three years, starting with a $200 million settlement from Microsoft. The company isn’t dead yet — just down for the count.

Once a high-flying tech darling, Cisco is now on the radar of value-oriented dividend lovers. Get the low down on the routing juggernaut in The Motley Fool’s premium report. Click here now to get started.

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Source: FULL ARTICLE at DailyFinance

The Top 3 Stocks in the Dow's Record Week

By Travis Hoium, The Motley Fool

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It was a record-setting week for the Dow Jones Industrial Average , which set new highs on its way to a 2.18% gain this week. The S&P 500 kept pace by moving 2.17% higher as well. Stronger-than-expected employment data from ADP and the Department of Labor had investors in a good mood all week, and it appears higher payroll taxes and the recent sequester haven’t dampened the private sector.

Bank of America led the Dow with a 6.4% jump this week. The company rallied ahead of the Federal Reserve’s stress test results, which were released midweek, and then cooled off after the company passed the first round. There’ll be another round of tests released this week, and the Fed will then decide whether Bank of America and other big banks will be able to increase their dividends or buy back shares. That’s the big carrot for investors, so there may be room for the stock to move higher in the coming weeks.

Boeing jumped 5.1% as investors bet that the company will soon resume test flights of the 787 Dreamliner. The National Transportation Safety Board still hasn’t determined the cause of the Dreamliner fire, but investors are looking past that to better days right now, believing that the worst is behind Boeing. Customers certainly haven’t lost faith in Boeing since the 787 problems. The company disclosed $4 billion in new orders on Thursday, and if the 787 gets off the ground soon, the stock could continue to fly.  

Rounding out the top three this week is Cisco Systems , which was up 4.8%. Tech stocks have been lagging the Dow’s gains in recent months, and with a ton of cash and a low valuation, it’s about time Cisco had a good week. The company didn’t release any earth-shattering news, but falling unemployment and a slow-growing economy have given investors confidence that tech companies will be able to grow and may even have good uses for their cash hoards. Cisco trades at 10.4 times forward earnings estimates and pays a 2.7% dividend — a great value in today’s market.

Cisco is now on the radar of value-oriented dividend lovers. Get the lowdown on the routing juggernaut in The Motley Fool’s premium report. Click here now to get started.

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Source: FULL ARTICLE at DailyFinance

Why Infinera Is Poised to Outperform

By Brian D. Pacampara, Pacampara, The Motley Fool

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Based on the aggregated intelligence of 180,000-plus investors participating in Motley Fool CAPS, the Fool’s free investing community, optical networking company Infinera has earned a coveted five-star ranking.

With that in mind, let’s take a closer look at Infinera and see what CAPS investors are saying about the stock right now.

Infinera facts

Headquarters (founded)

Sunnyvale, Calif. (2000)

Market Cap

$740.0 million

Industry

Communications equipment

Trailing-12-Month Revenue

$438.4 million

Management

CEO Thomas Fallon

Co-Founder/Chief Marketing and Strategy Officer Dr. David Welch

Return on Equity (average, past 3 years)

(16.9%)

Cash/Debt

$180.8 million / $0

Competitors

Alcatel-Lucent 

Cisco Systems

Ericsson

Sources: S&P Capital IQ and Motley Fool CAPS.

On CAPS, 98% of the 1,853 members who have rated Infinera believe the stock will outperform the S&P 500 going forward.

Just last month, one of those bulls, JoeArizona, succinctly summed up the Infinera bull case for our community:

Faster optical networks are coming, but big players are careful about upgrades. Once the Infinera DTN-X platform gains a track record at small communication providers, the big telecoms will place big orders. When that happens, the stock will skyrocket.

If you want market-topping returns, you need to put together the best portfolio you can. Of course, despite its perfect five-star rating, Infinera may not be your top choice.

We’ve found another growth play we are incredibly excited about — excited enough to dub it “The Only Stock You Need to Profit from the NEW Technology Revolution.” We have compiled a special free report for investors to uncover this stock today. The report is 100% free, but it won’t be here forever, so click here to access it now.

Want to see how well (or not so well) the stocks in this series are performing? Follow the TrackPoisedTo CAPS account.

The article Why Infinera Is Poised to Outperform originally appeared on Fool.com.

Fool contributor Brian Pacampara has no position in any stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool recommends Cisco Systems and Infinera. The Motley Fool owns shares of Infinera . Try any of our Foolish newsletter services free for 30 days. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

Copyright © 1995 – 2013 The Motley Fool, LLC. All rights reserved. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

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Source: FULL ARTICLE at DailyFinance

1 Sector Making the Dow's Rise Look Easy

By Jessica Alling, The Motley Fool

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One might have expected that reaching a new market milestone would incite some caution. But after setting a new all-time high with its close last night, the Dow Jones Industrial Average is still headed skyward. Breaking through the 14,300 mark in early trading, the index is still poised 28 points above yesterday’s close as of 11:55 a.m. ET. Perhaps news of the Dow’s record-breaking climb has finally brought back some investors who lacked confidence in the market.

Positive economic news continued this morning with the ADP jobs report, which showed steady improvement in private-sector job growth. Though the 150,000 jobs added in February was the lowest amount since October, it beat analyst expectations. Small businesses generated the most new positions, adding 77,000 jobs.

1 sector to rule them all
If you look at how the 30 Dow components are doing today, you’ll see a very clear pattern: Tech is up. Hewlett-Packard is leading the way this morning, up 3.14%. The computer-manufacturer held a webcast last night highlighting its new big-data software product, Vertica. The company’s product works in a “columnar” form, allowing queries to work against multiple data points at the same time, producing faster retrieval for analysis than a traditional relational database approach. In its infrastructure business, HP is adding new Texas Instrument ARM server processor options into its new “Project Moonshot” hyperscale servers — a big blow to Intel , which continues to fight for marketshare against ARM processors.

Despite HP‘s new plans for its Moonshot servers, Intel is up this morning by a solid 0.7%. The tech giant recently announced a new technology, DAAS, or Display as a Service, which may change the way people use their tech products. The service will disconnect the hardwire between a video source and the display, allowing people to view their phones or tablets on their big-screen TVs.The technology may also allow multiple devices to be linked to the same display. Intel has also announced that Chinese smartphone manufacturer ZTE will be using its new Atom Z2580 platform for its newest phone line.

Cisco Systems is also up 1.29% so far in trading. The network giant is one of the tech companies teaming up with European lawmakers to help improve technology training for the European workforce. With unemployment in Europe hitting new highs, it is important for workers to beef up their training for increasingly tech-centered jobs. Other Cisco news from Europe comes from Belgian cable company Telenet, which announced that it will be using Cisco’s Videoscape Snowflake user interface to provide increased user function for customers browsing through its available content.

Outside of tech
One company that doesn’t fit today’s trend is Bank of America . The bank is moving ever closer to the Fed’s release of its stress-test results, and many analysts are confident that BAC will pass with flying colors. If that is the case, investors may be trying to jump on board before the …read more
Source: FULL ARTICLE at DailyFinance

Why the Dow Swung 125 Points Higher Today

By John Divine, The Motley Fool

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It took more than five years, but the Dow Jones Industrial Average finally made up all the ground it lost in the financial crisis, surging to close at an all-time high today. China‘s announcement that it will maintain its 7.5% GDP growth goal eased Wall Street concerns about the global economy, sending the Dow 125 points, or about 0.9%, higher to close at 14,253.

Networking technology powerhouse Cisco Systems added 2.3% to lead the Dow today. It seems merely being a tech stock was good enough for investors to bid up shares today, as the sector enjoyed a strong day across the board. Now up more than 10% in the past three months, the stock is enjoying a nice rally that could continue as corporations reinvest their record profits. 

Coca-Cola , one of only two stocks to lose ground in the index today, was the weakest-performing blue chip, falling 0.4%. With an annual dividend approaching 3% and a mature, globally recognized brand, Coke doesn’t exactly have explosive growth prospects, which may have hurt shares today as investors embraced riskier options.

After being upgraded today by research firm Needham from a hold to a buy rating, shares of Stratasys , up as much as 7.8% early in the day, closed with 1% losses. The volatile day comes after the 3-D printing company announced a blowout quarter Monday, exceeding sales and earnings expectations. With the stock having already risen more than 7% yesterday, shareholders may have realized they were going a little nuts over the results, selling off after the stock reached its euphoric morning high.

Though not in the Dow, Sears Holdings was a bright spot in the broader market, as the stock jumped 5.6%. The news rallying the retailer came from a regulatory filing released yesterday that showed Chairman and CEO Eddie Lampert purchased $55 million worth of Sears stock recently, a direct vote of confidence. It’s never a bad thing for investors when management puts its money where its mouth is, aligning incentives with those of shareholders.

Once a high-flying tech darling, Cisco is now on the radar of value-oriented dividend lovers. That doesn’t mean shares can’t still offer impressive potential returns. Get the lowdown on the routing juggernaut in The Motley Fool’s premium report. Click here now to get started.

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Source: FULL ARTICLE at DailyFinance

4 Dow Stocks That Should Keep Pushing Higher

By Rick Aristotle, Munarriz, The Motley Fool

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It’s been a team effort pushing the Dow Jones Industrial Average to a fresh all-time high today. With less than two hours left in the trading day, 27 of the 30 Dow components are moving higher.

There are plenty of winners today, but let’s go over four Dow stocks that are well positioned to continue to head higher beyond today’s fireworks.

Disney
This family entertainment giant is also hitting a new all-time high today, up 1% to 56.40 as of 2 p.m. The company behind ABC, ESPN, and a growing arsenal of theatrically proficient characters continues to hit on nearly all cylinders. Theme park attendance is spiking. Advertisers are paying top dollar to watch ESPN viewers. Just wait until Disney begins monetizing its recently acquired Star Wars franchise.

Home Depot
The housing bubble got us into a big mess a few years ago, but now the long-awaited recovery is digging us out. The country’s leading home-improvement chain has plenty to gain as home prices inch higher. Homeowners will feel more comfortable sprucing up their homes, letting go of fears that the banks will take over properties that now may actually be worth more than their mortgages. Home Depot may be missing out on the party today, slipping just below breakeven, but the future looks bright.

Cisco Systems
One of the Dow’s biggest laggards during the downturn has bounced back in a major way. Up 2.1% to $21.17, Cisco is pocket change away from a fresh 52-week high, and the networking giant should thrive in an economic recovery where Corporate America is ready to invest in technology infrastructure again.

American Express
The financial-services behemoth is hitting highs last seen in the summer of 2007 today, up 2.2% to $64.30. As consumers feel more confident in spending and traveling, American Express stands to benefit. Despite the new multiyear high, the shares are fetching just 12 times next year’s projected profitability. That’s a “don’t leave home without it” bargain for one of the more consistent performers in financial services.

The Dow rally may or may not continue, but these four stocks appear ready to do everything they can to keep the new highs coming.

Learn more about Disney
It’s easy to forget that Walt Disney is more than just the House of Mouse. From its vast catalog of characters to its monster collection of media networks, much of Disney’s allure for investors lies in its diversity, and The Motley Fool’s new premium research report lays out the case for investing in Disney today. This report includes both the opportunities and the threats the company faces going forward. We’re also providing a full year of regular analyst updates as news develops, so don’t miss out — simply click here now to claim your copy today.

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Source: FULL ARTICLE at DailyFinance

The Dow's New All-Time High by the Numbers

By Alex Dumortier, CFA, The Motley Fool

^DJI Chart

Filed under:

We’re there! This morning, investors pushed the
Dow Jones Industrials Average
above its all-time closing high as well as its intraday record. As of 12 p.m. EST, the index is up 150 points, or 1%, to 14,278. Meanwhile, the broader
S&P 500
is up 1% to 1,542. Fittingly, the VIX index, Wall Street‘s fear gauge, is down 5%.

Breaking it down
The biggest percentage gainers in the Dow this morning belonged to “old tech” (
Cisco Systems and Hewlett-Packard), financials (American Express, Bank of America, and JPMorgan) and conglomerates (United Technologies and General Electric). However, the Dow is price-weighted, so the single biggest contributor to the index’s advance today is IBM, which is up about 1%.

The last time we were at these levels was during the heroic last gasp of a mortally wounded bull market. The U.S. financial system was teetering on the edge of a precipice that would ultimately engulf the global economy. It’s clear, with the benefit hindsight, that underlying fundamentals are sounder today than they were then, but it’s worth characterizing that observation.

The following graph, for example, displays the performance of the Dow Jones Industrial Average (blue line) between Oct. 9, 2007  and yesterday; U.S. gross domestic product (orange line), a measure of economic activity; and the Shiller P/E of the S&P 500 (red line), a long-term indicator of stock valuations:

^DJI data by YCharts.

In sum, while stock prices are flat (ex-dividends) over this period, economic activity has increased, albeit slowly, and stock valuations have come down nearly 20%. That’s a much healthier context for further stock-price gains, but risk is still present. The aforementioned Shiller P/E, which is calculated based on average trailing-10-year real earnings per share remains substantially above its long-term historical average. Investors need to stay alert.

The article The Dow’s New All-Time High by the Numbers originally appeared on Fool.com.

Fool contributor Alex Dumortier, CFA has no position in any stocks mentioned; you can follow him on LinkedIn. The Motley Fool has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. Try any of our Foolish newsletter services free for 30 days. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

Copyright © 1995 – 2013 The Motley Fool, LLC. All rights reserved. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

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Source: FULL ARTICLE at DailyFinance

Investors Shake Off Fears From Sequester

By Matt Thalman, The Motley Fool

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The Dow Jones Industrial Average quickly fell more than 117 points this morning, after the Senate failed to pass bills that would have stopped the $85 billion in automatic government spending cuts, known as the sequester, from going into effect today. But because of some positive economic numbers, the bears couldn’t hold the markets down.

This afternoon, the Dow rallied, closing the day up 0.25%, followed by the S&P 500, which gained 0.23%. Most market participants are claiming that the stronger-than-expected ISM manufacturing numbers gave the bulls a reason to forget about the possible future problems caused by the sequester.

The Dow’s downers
Unfortunately, not all of the Dow’s components ended the day on a positive note. Shares of both of the index’s major energy stocks closed down.

Chevron lost 0.21%, while ExxonMobil dipped lower by 0.13%. The moves were likely caused by the U.S. Energy Department‘s weekly report on U.S. crude inventory levels, which came out this afternoon. The report showed that inventories rose by 1.13 million barrels, marking the sixth straight weekly rise.

The stockpiles continued climbing this week because of increased imports even as domestic production fell and demand increased. Current crude supplies in the U.S. are 9.4% higher than they were at this time last year, and if inventory levels continue to move higher, crude prices will likely fall, causing lower profits for the major oil players.  

Shares of Cisco Systems lost 0.12% today. Lately, the company has been losing favor against smaller, faster-growing, competitors such as Palo Alto Networks . The latter operates in the network security hardware industry and competes with Cisco and Juniper Networks.

Palo Alto recently posted quarterly revenue growth of 70% year over year and expects growth of 52% to 58% in the coming quarter. Cisco can no longer offer investors that kind of rapid growth, and FBR Capital Markets analyst Daniel Ives believes Palo Alto will “continue to gain market share in the overall network security market from the larger incumbents.”  

Today McDonald’s announced that it was cutting two items from its menu, causing investors to cut the stock price by 0.23%. The king of fast food will no longer offer the Chicken Selects or the Fruit & Walnut Salad, and it’s considering removing the Angus burgers from its menu as well. A number of McDonald’s franchisees favor the cut. According to the Associated Press, one former owner feels the menu has become too broad, causing no one item to sell in massive quantities.  More importantly, though, this move may disappoint customers, and even cause some to stop eating under the Golden Arches.

 

After making investors rich in 2011, McDonald’s has been one of the worst-performing blue-chip stocks of 2012. Our top analyst on the company will tell you whether you should be worried by this trend, and he’ll shed light on whether McDonald’s is a buy at today’s prices. Click here now to read our …read more
Source: FULL ARTICLE at DailyFinance

Cisco Mobile Data Shows Surge in Smartphone Users, 4G Usage

By Connie Guglielmo, Forbes Staff The number of users with mobile devices is expected to climb to 5.2 billion in 2017 from 4.3 billion in 2012 and traffic across high-speed 4G networks will grow 40-fold during that time, according to a five-year forecast for mobile traffic data compiled by Cisco Systems and released today.
Source: FULL ARTICLE at Forbes Latest

3 Indispensable Tips for Leaders Under 30

By Dorie Clark, Contributor Annmarie Neal, the former Chief Talent Officer of Cisco Systems and author of the forthcoming Leading from the Edge (ASTD Press, 2013), has guided a lot of careers. In a rapidly changing corporate environment, with traditional career paths and entire industries dissolving overnight, it can be a challenge for younger leaders to figure out the right path forward. Here are her top three insights for under-30 executives who want to put themselves on an upward trajectory.
Source: FULL ARTICLE at Forbes Latest