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Sun Microsystems takes two steps forward, three steps back.

Sun Microsystems (NASDAQ: JAVA, Bullboard) is one of the great large-cap tech failures of the last five years. The company was a leader in the server business in 2000. Under founder Scott McNealy the company floundered for several years. Two years ago, McNealy was replaced by Jonathan Schwartz who has a pony tail and writes a blog. Those were the only things that recommended him for being a hardware company CEO.

The initial reaction to new management was good. Sun took two steps. The first was major workforce cuts that brought the company back to a profit. The other was several acquisitions to increase revenue in related businesses. The most notable was SeeBeyond. It turns out Sun has very little to show for the M&A work. Revenue growth has been flat for over a year. The stock has moved from almost $27 in January 2007 to under $13.

Sun released earnings two weeks ago. There was no movement on revenue and the company only managed to break even on an EPS basis. The firm announced more lay-offs and said that it did not expect improvements in sales as the year went on.

Sun is becoming an attractive takeover target for a big server provider. This could include IBM (NYSE: IBM, Bullboard), Hewlett-Packard (NYSE: HPQ, Bullboard), or even Dell (NASDAQ: DELL, Bullboard). With a market cap of under $10 billion, the company trades for less than one times sales. A larger firm could pull out a lot of Sun's costs, and hope to keep all or most of the revenue.

The play on Sun is to hope for a buyout.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
From the news desk of 24/7 Wall St.

This report was prepared by 24/7 Wall St., LLC exclusively for Stockhouse. 

 
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Comments
This company is an odd one. They have 2 billion in working capital at their disposal, and revenue seems very flat, yet in 2006 they reported a net loss of $864 million, a net income of $473 million in 2007, and a net loss of 34 million in 2008. This company can't keep trimming the fat and to try to increase profits because it seems there is very little fat left.
How I wouldn't say the only hope for Sun is a buyout. They still have some pocket money, they should invest is some heavy r & d and get new management at the same time.
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