Wall Street Watch Tuesday: Will Google Pay the Troll?
Google (GOOG) will come face to face with a patent troll on Tuesday morning.
A judge has ordered Google to meet with Vringo (VRNG) -- a patent-rich mobile app developer -- to see if the two sides can hammer out a settlement. Vringo is suing Google and other search providers, arguing that the dot-com seekers are infringing on patents that it acquired this summer.
The settlement negotiations will begin at 10:30 in Virginia on Tuesday.
There's plenty at stake here. Maxim Group analyst John Tinker issued a bullish note on Vringo on Monday, raising his price target on the stock from $6.50 to $10. He sees Vringo pushing for nearly $700 million -- plus interest -- for historical licensing and another $700 million in future royalties. Even a modest settlement would be a success for Vringo after having paid just eight figures for the company that owned these search patents dating back to dot-com pioneer Lycos.
Vringo's stock soared 57% last week, tacking on another 19% on Monday.
A lot is riding on this, and not just for Vringo, which was mostly known for its video ringtone app. Google probably doesn't want to cave and settle with Vringo, but the last thing it needs is to wage a public battle in a no-win situation. If Google emerges victorious, it will be seen as a bully. If it's defeated, other patent trolls will come for a piece of Google's billions.
It's going to be an interesting meeting.
Other Things Worth Watching
Edwards Lifesciences (EW) investors are bailing on Team Edwards. The maker of trans-catheter heart valves is seeing its stock tank after warning on Monday afternoon that sales for the quarter that just ended will clock in at roughly $448 million. Edwards Lifesciences' earlier guidance called for $465 million to $485 million in revenue. It may not seem like much of a revision, but it amounts to revenue growing just 9% over the past year. That's well off its previous outlook for 13% to 18% top-line growth.
AngioDynamics (ANGO) was one of the few companies reporting quarterly results on Columbus Day. It didn't sail as well as the Santa Maria. Despite announcing a small acquisition and better than expected adjusted earnings, the medical device maker slipped after Monday's market close. AngioDynamics may have posted healthy revenue growth, but it was short of Wall Street expectations.
Motley Fool contributor Rick Munarriz does not own shares in any of the stocks in this article. The Motley Fool owns shares of Google. Motley Fool newsletter services have recommended buying shares of Google.
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