Fallen Angels

Value Find: Comarco, Inc.

Matt Ragas | Apr 29, 2008 06:20am EDT | Comment
Rating: Unrated

Large and repeated insider buying coupled with a recent shake-up of Comarco, Inc.’s (Nasdaq:CMRO) management and board of directors suggest this beaten down microcap may have a second life.

Since early 2006, shares of tiny $29 million market capitalization Comarco have been in a downward spiral. The Lake Forest, Calif.-based tech name’s collapse in share price to less than $4 a share from $12 over this period is hardly surprisingly, given a painfully consistent string of negative news. Comarco operates across three business lines: ChargeSource, a provider of multi-function, universal mobile power products; Wireless Test Solutions (WTS), a provider of hardware and software tools for wireless carriers; and Comarco Wireless Technologies (CWT), a provider of call box systems for transportation and public safety agencies. The ChargeSource and WTS units have suffered in recent quarters from underperforming or discontinued partnerships, while the CWT unit is a mature business near the end of a current upgrade cycle.

In March, Comarco finally took concrete steps to inject fresh talent into the business and try to get the badly struggling company back on track. Comarco shook up its executive ranks, naming Sam Inman, a former executive of International Business Machines Corp. (NYSE:IBM), as the company’s new CEO. The company also brought in a new interim CFO in Winston Hickman. Turning to the boardroom, Comarco chairman Erik van der Kaay resigned and two new board members recommended by Broadwood Capital, Comarco’s largest shareholder, were added to . . .

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Matt Ragas

About the Author
Contributing author Matt Ragas is an investment writer and analyst with ten years of experience analyzing small and microcap stocks, with a particular emphasis on value and turnaround situations.