NOK Solution to Boost Microsoft's Data Center Network: Stock to Gain?

Verizon Communications Inc. VZ recently announced that it has deployed an Open RAN-based Distributed Antenna System (DAS) at the Austin Convention Center and the University of Texas to deliver reliable 5G services. This marks the first commercial deployment of the DAS systems with multi-vendor interoperability using O RAN interfaces in the Verizon network.

In recent deployments, Samsung virtualized Distributed Unit (vDU) was utilized in conjunction with Commscope DAS connected through an O-RAN interface. This advanced setup facilitates the delivery of Verizon’s 5G Ultra-Wideband services, ensuring high-speed, reliable Internet availability in the venues. The solution eliminates the need for RF equipment, thus lowering the power consumption, space requirements and need for cooling systems. This ensures significant cost reduction compared to legacy setups.

Over the last few years, Verizon has shifted toward cloud-based architecture, virtualization and O-RAN integration. Verizon’s aggressive adoption of O-RAN standards has played a key role in its network evolution. The company has been a pioneer in fostering O-RAN implementations in commercial environments, with around 130,000 O-RAN capable radios already deployed across its network.

Will These Developments Drive VZ’s Share Performance?

The open framework of O-RAN eliminates the risk associated with vendor lock-in and allows customers to choose from the best components from different suppliers as per their requirements. This optimizes operators' expenses. It also opens up market opportunities for new entrants, creating a healthy competitive environment that accelerates innovation. The deployment flexibility, scalability and cost-saving attributes are driving the O-RAN adoption and investments in Open RAN are expected to grow substantially in upcoming years. Verizon is well-positioned to capitalize on this emerging market trend.

Moreover, the successful deployment of O-RAN-based DAS systems serves as a testament to Verizon’s industry-leading network portfolio. This achievement is laying the foundation for the broader adoption of multi-vendor, interoperable networks in highly demanding venues such as stadiums, airports and more.

VZ’s Stock Price Performance

Shares of Verizon have gained 14.1% over the past year compared with the industry’s growth of 37.7%.

Boosting shareholders’ wealth, CBRE Group’s CBRE board of directors approved an additional $5 billion increase in the company’s stock repurchase authorization.

This approved expanded authorization supplements CBRE’s existing $4 billion stock repurchase authorization, which had approximately $1.4 billion remaining as of Sept. 30, 2024. Since 2021, CBRE has repurchased 36 million shares at an estimated cost of $3 billion, with a weighted average price of approximately $83.50 per share.

The expanded authorization comes at a crucial time, as the company believes that the current valuation of its shares does not represent its long-term growth potential.

CBRE Group is focused on maintaining a strong financial position. It ended the third quarter of 2024 with more than $4 billion of liquidity. Management expects its free cash flow to be on track to exceed $1 billion this year.

Is it Prudent to Invest in CBRE Stock Now?

CBRE Group is well-positioned to sustain robust earnings and free cash flow growth in the future, supported by its highly resilient and diversified business model. Its initiatives to increase shareholder value reflect the company's strong financial position. The outsourcing business remains healthy, and its pipeline is likely to remain elevated, offering it scope for growth. Strategic buyouts and technology investments are expected to drive its performance.

Analysts seem bullish on this company, with the Zacks Consensus Estimate for its 2024 earnings per share being revised 2.7% upward over the past month to $4.93.

Considering the growth scope, we conclude that the stock indicates a good investment opportunity for investors. Its Zacks Rank #2 (Buy) supports our thesis.

Over the past six months, shares of the company have rallied 50.2% compared with the industry’s upside of 19.3%.

Other Stocks to Consider

Some other top-ranked stocks from the operations real estate industry are Jones Lang JLL and Zillow Group Class C Z, each carrying a Zacks Rank #2 at present. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for JLL’s 2024 earnings per share is pinned at $13.17, suggesting year-over-year growth of 78%.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Z’s ongoing year’s earnings per share stands at $1.44, indicating a 14.3% increase from the year-ago reported figure.

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Altice USA Inc. ATUS subsidiary Optimum has reached a milestone of 100% fiber connectivity across 500,000 residential customers. The unique feat was achieved on the back of significant investments to expand its fiber network footprint across its service areas. These include a $40 million investment in Long Island this year and a multi-million-dollar infrastructure upgrade in the Northeast markets over the last several years.

Altice has also forayed into new markets to strengthen its regional presence. The company has expanded in markets like Montclair and West Orange, NJ, to bring Optimum Fiber services to key communities, while solidifying its fiber network presence across the broader New York tri-state region.

The company remains on track with its five-year plan to build a fiber-to-the-home (FTTH) network and deploy its home communications hub. It believes that the FTTH network will be more resilient with reduced maintenance requirements and lower power usage. Altice is building a fiber network to deliver broadband speeds of up to 10 Gbps, which underscores its investment in technology.

ATUS Focusing on Inorganic Growth

Altice subsidiary Lightpath is also set to significantly boost its fiber network capabilities through the proposed acquisition of United Fiber and Data (“UFD”). UFD operates a 323-route mile high-fiber network stretching from New York City to Ashburn, VA, a critical link between the largest U.S. population center and the world's leading data center hub. Additionally, UFD’s 79-route mile metro network in New York City and New Jersey connects more than 350 enterprise and data center locations. This includes a high-fiber crossing of the Hudson River, enhancing Lightpath's existing infrastructure.

UFD’s vast geographical network complements Lightpath's current infrastructure, expanding its network to more than 20,000 route miles and enhancing its connectivity with over 140 data centers and seven cable landing stations. This will allow Lightpath to offer more regionally diverse, high-capacity services across the East Coast, particularly benefiting high-demand areas like Manhattan and the Ashburn data ecosystem.

With the acquisition, Lightpath will significantly increase its enterprise and data center coverage in Manhattan. Altice’s connectivity solutions stand to witness robust enhancement through Lightpath’s acquisition of UFD. The buyout not only expands Lightpath's fiber network footprint and technological capabilities but also reinforces its position in high-growth markets, promising substantial benefits for both companies and their customers.

ATUS Stock to Reap the Benefits?

Altice is focused on expanding its network for increased market penetration and fiber network upgrades for long-term sustainable growth. It plans to bring 100% fiber broadband to more than two-thirds of its footprint over the next few years to reach a total of 6.5 million FTTH passings by the end of 2025. Strategic acquisitions allow Altice to benefit from greater scale and operating efficiency while expanding its fiber footprint.

This expanded service capability is expected to attract more customers and increase market share. This, in turn, is likely to translate into incremental revenues and boost the stock.

Zacks Rank

Altice carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

Other Players Operating in the Space

Arista Networks, Inc. ANET, carrying a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy) at present, is likely to benefit from strong momentum and diversification across its top verticals and product lines. The company has a software-driven, data-centric approach to help customers build their cloud architecture and enhance their cloud experience. Arista has a long-term earnings growth expectation of 16% and delivered an earnings surprise of 14.8%, on average, in the trailing four quarters.

It holds a leadership position in 100-gigabit Ethernet switching share in port for the high-speed data center segment. Arista is increasingly gaining market traction in 200 and 400-gig high-performance switching products and remains well-positioned for healthy growth in data-driven cloud networking business with proactive platforms and predictive operations.

NVIDIA Corporation NVDA, currently flaunting a Zacks Rank #1, is another key pick in the broader industry. It is the worldwide leader in visual computing technologies and the inventor of the graphic processing unit or GPU. Over the years, the company’s focus has evolved from PC graphics to AI-based solutions that now support high-performance computing, gaming and virtual reality platforms.

The company’s GPU platforms are playing major roles in developing multi-billion-dollar end-markets like robotics and self-driving vehicles. NVIDIA has a long-term earnings growth expectation of 35.7% and delivered an earnings surprise of 9.8%, on average, in the trailing four quarters.

Workday Inc. WDAY, carrying a Zacks Rank #2, has a long-term earnings growth expectation of 21% and delivered an earnings surprise of 9.1%, on average, in the trailing four quarters. It is a leading provider of enterprise-level software solutions for financial management and human resource domains.

Workday’s cloud-based business model and expanding product portfolio have been the primary growth drivers. Moreover, the growing clout of Workday Prism Analytics and Adaptive Insights business planning cloud offerings holds promise.

Zacks Investment Research

In its upcoming report, Workday (WDAY) is predicted by Wall Street analysts to post quarterly earnings of $1.72 per share, reflecting an increase of 12.4% compared to the same period last year. Revenues are forecasted to be $2.13 billion, representing a year-over-year increase of 14%.

Over the past 30 days, the consensus EPS estimate for the quarter has been adjusted downward by 0.3% to its current level. This demonstrates the covering analysts' collective reassessment of their initial projections during this period.

Ahead of a company's earnings disclosure, it is crucial to give due consideration to changes in earnings estimates. These revisions serve as a noteworthy factor in predicting potential investor reactions to the stock. Numerous empirical studies consistently demonstrate a strong relationship between trends in earnings estimate revision and the short-term price performance of a stock.

While investors usually depend on consensus earnings and revenue estimates to assess the business performance for the quarter, delving into analysts' forecasts for certain key metrics often provides a more comprehensive understanding.

Given this perspective, it's time to examine the average forecasts of specific Workday metrics that are routinely monitored and predicted by Wall Street analysts.

It is projected by analysts that the 'Revenues- Subscription services' will reach $1.96 billion. The estimate suggests a change of +15.6% year over year.

The collective assessment of analysts points to an estimated 'Revenues- Professional services' of $170.39 million. The estimate indicates a change of -2.4% from the prior-year quarter.

The average prediction of analysts places 'Subscription Revenue Backlog' at $21.93 billion. Compared to the present estimate, the company reported $18.45 billion in the same quarter last year.

View all Key Company Metrics for Workday here>>>

Shares of Workday have experienced a change of +13.2% in the past month compared to the +1.7% move of the Zacks S&P 500 composite. With a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy), WDAY is expected to outperform the overall market in the near future. You can see the complete list of today's Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) stocks here

Zacks Investment Research

Technology stocks were leaning lower premarket Friday, with the SPDR S&P Semiconductor ETF inactive and The Technology Select Sector SPDR Fund down 0.2%.

EchoStar shares were down more than 5% after the proposed merger of the company's Dish TV subsidiary with rival DirecTV fell apart over a failed bond-exchange offer.

POET Technologies stock was 0.2% lower after the company said it is voluntarily delisting its shares from the TSX Venture Exchange due to low trading volume.

Nokia shares were nearly 1% higher after the company said it is launching a stock buyback program to repurchase 150 million shares for a total price of up to 900 million euros ($936.2 million).

Blackbaud BLKB recently partnered with Flywire Corporation FLYW, a global payments enablement and software organization, to improve the payment experience for international students paying tuition fees at K-12 private and independent schools in the United States. By integrating Flywire’s global payment platform into Blackbaud’s Tuition Management system, schools and families can benefit from a unified and streamlined payment experience, providing real-time, secure and user-friendly payment processing for families across the globe.

K-12 boarding and independent schools are working to attract more international students by improving recruitment strategies, offering better student support and reaching out to diverse audiences. Simplifying payment processes, including currency conversion and cross-border transactions, helps remove enrollment barriers. Flexible payment plans and secure options make schools more appealing and accessible, encouraging higher enrollment, especially among international and non-local families.

Tuition payments for secondary schools in the United States can range from $4,200 to more than $29,000 annually. Traditionally, families have relied on international wire transfers or credit cards to handle these payments—methods often accompanied by high fees, limited visibility into transactions and processing delays. To address these challenges, the partnership between Flywire and Blackbaud offers a robust solution, transforming the payment experience for both parties involved.

Schools using Blackbaud gain from Flywire's out-of-the-box integration and 24/7 multilingual support. This integration ensures smooth payment processing within Blackbaud, providing real-time balances and payment status updates for front-end and back-end users. The Flywire-Blackbaud collaboration not only improves payments but also addresses the broader challenges that international families and schools face. By simplifying international tuition payments, the integration empowers schools to attract and retain diverse student populations while enhancing operational efficiency.

Blackbaud, Inc. Price and Consensus

Blackbaud, Inc. price-consensus-chart | Blackbaud, Inc. Quote

Blackbaud is a leading software provider focused on supporting social impact. Its software is designed to enhance impact in areas such as fundraising, financial management for nonprofits, digital giving, grantmaking, corporate social responsibility and education management.

Strong momentum in the core social sector, along with strategic partnerships, is aiding BLKB’s stock movement. In September 2024, BLKB expanded its long-standing partnership with Microsoft to incorporate Microsoft AI and analytics into software designed for the distinct operational needs of social impact organizations, eliminating the necessity for expensive customizations.

The social sector contributed 89% to the company’s third-quarter revenues, with a 6.6% year-over-year rise. Within this sector, contractual recurring revenues grew 6.8%, while transactional recurring revenues rose 6.6%. Management is optimistic about the sector’s long-term performance, highlighting its resilience even during economic downturns like the pandemic. A revised strategy for renewal contract pricing is also expected to drive growth. The company plans to transition 65% of eligible customers to updated contract terms and pricing by the end of 2024, with an additional 25% shifting in 2025 and the final 10% completing the process by 2026. Healthy financial performance is likely to propel the stock.

BLKB’s Zacks Rank & Stock Price Performance

BLKB currently carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). Following the announcement, BLKB’s shares gained 2.8% and closed the trading session at $85.37 on Nov. 21. Shares of the company have soared 13% in the past year compared with the sub-industry's growth of 17%.

Other Stocks to Consider

Some other top-ranked stocks from the broader technology space are Workday Inc. WDAY and InterDigital, Inc. IDCC. IDCC presently sports a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), whereas WDAY carries a Zacks Rank #2. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

IDCC is a pioneer in advanced mobile technologies that enable wireless communications and capabilities. The company engages in designing and developing a wide range of advanced technology solutions, which are used in digital cellular as well as wireless 3G, 4G and IEEE 802-related products and networks. It has a long-term growth expectation of 17.44%.

WDAY is a leading provider of enterprise-level software solutions for financial management and human resource domains. The company’s cloud-based platform combines finance and HR in a single system, making it easier for organizations to provide analytical insights and decision support. In the last reported quarter, it delivered an earnings surprise of 7.36%.

Zacks Investment Research