[Satellite TODAY Insider 10-19-11] Financial analysis firm Zacks Investment Research has upgraded the share value of satellite technology solutions provider Gilat Satellite Networks from neutral to outperform after the company announced its significant business expansion plan and recent milestone performance.
   The Zacks Investment Research report, issued Oct. 18, noted that the company has formed key partnerships in new vertical markets from recent acquisitions and that its accomplishments could positively affect its stock value. “[Gilat Satellite Networks’] stock value has seen a 52-week, one-year low of $3.04 and a one-year high of $6.20. With the stock’s 50-day moving average at $3.39 and its 200-day moving average at $4.32, the company holds a market cap of $142.9 million and a price-to-earnings ratio of 4.57,” Zacks analysts wrote.

   The report was published on the same day that Gilat announced that it reached its one millionth VSAT terminal shipment milestone. In a statement, Gilat COO Jaron Lotan said that the company’s efforts to extend its presence to a wider range of enterprises, government agencies and service providers have helped the company form valuable technology partnerships and exceed its shipping targets.

   “We are extremely proud to have achieved this important milestone … Our networks span the globe, providing a diverse range of customers with constant and reliable connectivity for voice, video and data services — championing boundless communications worldwide,” said Lotan.

   Gilat developed and shipped its first generation two-way VSAT, the SkyStar Advantage, in 1991. The company currently holds technology partnerships with satellite service, software and hardware providers and developers such as Optus, Bharti Airtel, StarOne, GTech and Intralot.

   The company’s last major VSAT order came in September through an agreement it signed with an unnamed Latin American government agency to deliver more than 1,800 SkyEdge 2 VSATs to facilitate broadband Internet connectivity in schools. Gilat’s SkyEdge 2 is a multi-service platform that aims to deliver high-quality voice, broadband data and video services for enterprises, rural networks, cellular backhaul and government network applications. Financial details of the agreement were not disclosed.

   “Latin America represents one of Gilat’s key markets and we are proud to have our technology deployed where broadband connectivity is going to make a noticeable and important contribution to children’s lives,” Gilat Regional Vice President of Latin America Russell Ribeiro said in a statement.