Fallen Angels

Cash-rich Westell Technologies worth a look

Matt Ragas | Aug 05, 2008 06:20am EDT | Comment
Rating: 4 out of 4 stars

With its stock price trading for approximately its cash value and a new CEO at the helm, it may be worth taking a flier on shares of telecommunications equipment company Westell Technologies Inc. (Nasdaq:WSTL).

Following several quarters in a row of disappointing financial results and missed guidance, on July 8 Westell announced the resignation of CEO Thomas Mader. New interim Westell CEO Bernard Sergesketter, a former Westell director, has his work cut out for him. At a recent price of just $0.80 a share, Westell’s shares are down over 40% since the start of the year and 60% since mid-February. At current stock price levels, and with over $0.80 a share in net cash on hand, investors are clearly indicating that they have meager confidence in Westell’s future.

Founded nearly three decades ago, Aurora, Ill.-based Westell operates in three segments: customer networking equipment, outside plant systems, and conferencing services. The customer networking equipment segment provides broadband digital subscriber line (DSL), fiber-to-the-home (FTTH), voice-over-Internet protocol (VoIP) and Internet protocol television (IPTV) products for telecom carriers and cable companies. Last year, Westell outsourced its networking equipment manufacturing to China. Operating under the name OSPlant Systems, the outside plant systems segment provides outdoor cabinets, enclosures, remote monitoring and related network protection solutions.The conferencing services segment, called ConferencePlus, manages and hosts voice, video, IP applications and back-office services for corporate clients...

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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.