Vringo Wins in Patent Settlement (VRNG, GOOG, AOL, TGT, GCI)

Vringo Inc. (NYSEMKT: VRNG) is the latest company to surge on patent news. We have seen news that the video ringtone company has reached a settlement with AOL Inc. (NYSE: AOL), and this is only one of the patent suits that Vringo has against some of the big names in technology. Via a prior acquisition, Vringo is suing other large web companies such as Google Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOG), Gannett Co. (NYSE: GCI), Target Corp. (NYSE: TGT) and others. That company had purchased eight patents from Lycos and the main target is actually Google in the case, with the other companies mentioned as being Google customers.

Vringo shares have seen a massive volume spike this morning. We have seen some 2 million shares trade hands and the gain is 15% to $3.58. Vringo has a market cap of only about $18 million, and its 52-week range is $0.68 to $5.45. As a reminder, these microcap names can be very volatile and can move sometimes without news.

JON C. OGG