AUTH Authentec, Inc. (MM)

International payment solution provider, Ingenico has recently chosen Atmel Corporation’s (ATML) maXTouch solution to power the wireless payment portals of its iWL200 Series model. The company’s maXTouch solutions continue to drive a number of touch devices from smartphones to 7-inch tablets and are now encouraged to support Ingenico’s user-friendly payment platforms.

Atmel’s maXTouch are noted for their robust features such as multi-touch with infinite touch capability, facility of providing superior assistance to the large-screen devices and optimized power consumption. Currently, Atmel’s maXTouch mXT224 touch screen technology is supporting Ingenico’s globally accepted iWL280 portable payment terminal. This mXT224 controller offers a superior touchscreen experience to the customers through its 224-node and single-chip services.

Ingenico is recognized for offering the most distinguished payment solutions worldwide which helped its clients to augment their businesses in the future. Hence, Atmel is extremely eager to build a long-term relationship with Ingenico through expanding its touch-sensing market into new applications.

Earlier, Atmel had invested heavily in its Microcontroller business during the downturn and released substantial number of new products in the past few quarters, which will benefit the business during industry recovery. The company grew its maXTouch revenue sequentially during the first quarter. The launch of Microsoft's new Windows 8 operating system is expected to usher in a new era of touch-enabled tablets, ultrabooks, convertible PCs and all-in-one PCs.

Even though Atmel globally established itself in the micro-controller business, it should be aware of the tough competition prevalent in the industry.  Ominous rivals here include AuthenTec, Inc. (AUTH) and Mellanox Technologies, Ltd. (MLNX), who are exhibiting striking results.

The current Zacks Consensus Estimates for Atmel are 4 cents and 28 cents for the second quarter of 2012 and for fiscal 2012, respectively. As the current macro-economic conditions continue to be challenging, the company continues to have a Zacks #3 Rank, which translates into a short-term ‘Hold’ rating. Nevertheless, in the long run, we maintain a Neutral recommendation on the stock.

 
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