Things really aren’t that bad
The month of May cannot end soon enough for shareholders of Aruba Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:ARUN). The provider of network access solutions imploded earlier this month when it cut its guidance for the third quarter, then plummeted an additional 30% on Friday after it met those reduced results but pointed to intensified competition as the reason it was offering cautious guidance moving forward. As my Foolish colleague Evan Niu pointed out on Friday, Cisco Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CSCO)‘ beat would certainly signify that it’s having success in taking customers away from Aruba Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:ARUN). But, in reality, things aren’t nearly as bad as they seem.
Think of the networking solutions sector as a growing pie. Certainly market share will be won and lost along the way, but the pie is expanding enough so that everyone can get a piece and still have room to grow. The cash trickle-down effect during a tech infrastructure expansion cycle is very clear. First we seen big spending by enterprises and wireless service providers. Next, fiber-optic companies see a nice boost. After that, networking switch and adapter companies see a boost and finally networking solutions providers. Sure, they’re further down the food chain, but with AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T), Sprint Nextel, and T-Mobile all rigorously expanding their 4G LTE networks, the demand for infrastructure upgrades and networking solutions is bound to remain strong.
Aruba Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:ARUN) ended the quarter with just shy of $4 in cash with no debt and is still poised to grow sales by double digits for what I suspect will be the next couple of years. I know it might be tough to ignore May’s steep decline, but things really aren’t that bad here. Patient investors here should be rewarded handsomely.
Foolish roundup
This week’s theme is “things really aren’t that bad.” Sure, falling gold prices are hurting AuRico Gold Inc (NYSE:AUQ)’s margins, weaker-than-average GDP growth in China is constraining oil demand, and Cisco Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CSCO) is apparently mopping the floor with Aruba Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:ARUN) in the interim. Yet definite catalysts exist for all three companies, including a huge mine expansion, a growing need for oil in an industrializing nation, and an ongoing infrastructure upgrade in the tech sector.
The article 3 Stocks Near 52-Week Lows Worth Buying originally appeared on Fool.com and is written by Sean Williams.
Fool contributor Sean Williams has no material interest in any companies mentioned in this article. You can follow him on CAPS under the screen name TMFUltraLong, track every pick he makes under the screen name TrackUltraLong, and check him out on Twitter, where he goes by the handle @TMFUltraLong.The Motley Fool recommends Cisco Systems.
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