There's a New Leader in the Data Arms Race

Shares of optical networking specialistInfinera (NAS: INFN) are shining bright today. The stock has jumped as much as 8%, and the gains are Infinera's alone: Rivals Alcatel-Lucent (NYS: ALU) , Ciena (NAS: CIEN) , and Tellabs (NAS: TLAB) have hardly moved at all. This is no industrywide tide lifting all boats.

The company-specific gain engine today is Infinera's introduction of a new optical switching platform. Designed for high performance today and a very scalable tomorrow, the Infinera DTN-X combines optical signaling with traffic management in one simple package.

Infinera hopes to sell these systems to extremely bandwidth-hungry Internet backbone and service providers, particularly those with a yen for even greater traffic handling needs in the future. Examples of this customers class would include Level 3 Communications (NAS: LVLT) as well as all-around communications titans such as Verizon (NYS: VZ) and AT&T (NYS: T) .

Ultra-fast networking is quite the arms race, and Infinera just leapfrogged almost everybody else in the long-haul equipment market.

The company could sure use a bit of good news as it's been awhile since Infinera was consistently profitable. In spite of today's respectable jump, share prices have plunged more than 20% over the past year.

Our CAPS community still slaps a perfect five-star rating on this stock, though. Your fellow investors see Infinera shares bouncing back like eagles on pogo sticks; could the DTN-X technology be the catalyst Infinera needed?

Only time will tell, but luck and investing success only come to those prepared to take advantage. Read this totally free special report to better understand how fat bandwidth pipes pave a road to riches, then add Infinera to your Foolish watchlist. Whatever happens next, you'll be poised to strike.

At the time thisarticle was published Fool contributorAnders Bylundholds no position in any of the companies discussed here. The Motley Fool owns shares of Infinera.Motley Fool newsletter serviceshave recommended buying shares of AT&T and Infinera. Try any of our Foolish newsletter servicesfree for 30 days. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe thatconsidering a diverse range of insightsmakes us better investors. You can check outAnders' holdings and a concise bio, follow him onTwitterorGoogle+,or peruseour Foolish disclosure policy.

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