On Monday, Rosenblatt Securities adjusted its stance on Infinera Corp . (NASDAQ: NASDAQ:INFN), transitioning from a Buy to a Neutral rating. The firm also revised its price target for the company's shares to $6.65, a decrease from the previous target of $8.00. This change follows Infinera's announcement of robust second-quarter results, which showcased a 12% quarter-over-quarter increase in revenues to $343 million, surpassing estimates by $12 million.
The growth was primarily attributed to a 66% quarterly and 15% year-over-year surge in sales to Internet Content Providers (ICPs) or Web Scalers. Infinera's gross margins stood at 40.3%, which was 0.8% higher than anticipated, and the reported earnings per share loss was smaller than expected. Additionally, the company experienced a rise in bookings both quarterly and annually, with a book-to-bill ratio exceeding 1.0.
The company also reported sequential improvement in U.S. telecommunications sales after a slower start in the first quarter of 2024. Rosenblatt highlighted that Infinera's decision to sell to Nokia (HE:NOKIA) was driven by strategic considerations for scaling rather than a shortfall in the second half of 2024 expectations.
The performance of Infinera is seen as moderately positive for Ciena (NYSE:CIEN), although Rosenblatt recently downgraded Ciena to Hold due to its greater exposure to U.S. Tier 1 telecommunications companies and its status as a shareholder rather than a share gainer in the Web Scale market.
Rosenblatt believes that while there is considerable value in Infinera's lasers and laser fabrication capabilities, the likelihood of a competing bid during the ongoing sales process with Nokia is low. Consequently, the firm has opted to downgrade Infinera's stock rating and adjust its price target to align with the acquisition offer presented by Nokia.
In other recent news, Nokia Corporation reported a significant 18% drop in its second-quarter revenue for 2024, largely due to reduced sales in India post-5G deployment peak. However, the company remains optimistic about an improvement in net sales in the latter half of the year.
A highlight from the earnings call was the announcement of Nokia's acquisition of Infinera, a strategic move expected to strengthen its optical networks business and contribute to future earnings. The company's cost savings program is also progressing well, achieving €400 million in savings and maintaining a strong free cash flow of €400 million in Q2.
In terms of workforce, Nokia aims to employ between 72,000 to 77,000 employees by the end of 2026. The company is also diversifying into the enterprise market and non-CSP business. Despite experiencing a setback with AT&T (NYSE:T), Nokia continues to make progress in Mobile Networks with new deals and expansion projects. Furthermore, a €600 million share buyback program is set to be completed by the end of 2024.
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