While the Cowen team has a larger universe of coverage in telecom services, they specifically recommended buying two stocks in front of earnings announcements: Level 3 Communications Inc. (NYSE: LVLT) and RackSpace Hosting Inc. (NYSE: RAX).
Level 3 Communications
Providing local, national and global communications services to enterprise, government and carrier customers, Level 3 has a comprehensive portfolio of secure, managed solutions includes fiber and infrastructure solutions, IP-based voice and data communications, wide-area Ethernet services, video and content distribution and data center and cloud-based solutions. It serves customers in more than 500 markets in over 60 countries over a global services platform anchored by owned fiber networks on three continents and connected by extensive undersea facilities.
While the Cowen analysts expect revenue to be slightly below the Wall Street consensus estimates of $2.1 billion due to currency headwinds, they also think that previous 2015 EBITDA guidance was conservative, and the actual first-quarter earnings print will show investors that a 2015 guidance beat is already in the cards. The Cowen team is good at spotting past trends from the company, and they point to the TW Telecom opportunities, among others, as a real positive going forward.
The Cowen price objective for the stock is $62. The Thomson/First Call consensus price target is $57.75. The stock closed Tuesday at $54.28 a share.
ALSO READ: 5 Cheap Large Cap Stocks to Buy in a Pricey Stock Market
RackSpace Hosting
This leader in the managed cloud is the founder of OpenStack, the open-source operating system for the cloud. It offers a diverse portfolio of cloud computing services, including public cloud, dedicated cloud, private cloud and hybrid cloud. All its services are committed to open technologies. The equipment — including servers, routers, switches, firewalls, load balancers, cabinets, software and wiring — that is required to deliver services is typically purchased and managed by the company.
Last fall the company announced it was updating and modernizing its relationship with Microsoft and now offers support for Microsoft’s private cloud offering, along with added support for Google Apps. The company also got Wall Street’s attention this time last year when it said it was looking at strategic alternatives, which could mean a buyout or merger. With no firm suitors lining up, the company has continued to increase the focus on product development.
Hedge fund Blue Harbour Group continues to add to the firm’s holdings in the stock, and the position accounts for 13.72% of the fund’s total portfolio, as of the end of 2014. In November 2014, the company’s chairman and founder, Graham Weston, bought $25 million of Rackspace stock. Weston believes that the company has a lot of growth potential. He remains very optimistic about its revenue growth under the leadership of its new chief executive.
The Cowen analysts think that despite currency headwinds the company reports toward the high end of the current $474 million to $484 million guidance. They also think the company signs a deal this year, perhaps in the first half, with a “mega cloud” provider.
The Cowen price target for the stock stands at $75, while the consensus target is lower at $45.11. Shares closed trading on Tuesday at $53.10.
ALSO READ: 5 IT Hardware Tech Stocks to Buy Before Earnings
The demand for fiber, storage, delivery and latency is only going to increase. With Google making a huge push into programming and the ISP world with its Google Fiber, plus major carriers increasing Internet speeds, the need for speed will only increase. Cowen’s top stocks to buy should be right there when more orders continue to roll in.
Top Gaining Stocks
Top Losing Stocks