IBM targets a new niche

Article Excerpt

IBM $118.54, is a buy. The stock (New York symbol IBM; Shares outstanding: 887.9 million; Market cap: $105.3 billion; TSINetwork Rating: Above Average; Dividend yield: 5.5%) gives investors exposure to one of the world’s largest computer firms. It operates in over 175 countries. IBM continues to enhance its cloud computing expertise; cloud-computing platforms let users store computer programs and data files on remote servers and access them online. The company has now agreed to pay an undisclosed amount for privately held Spanugo. It makes security software for cloud-based systems. Those products let businesses monitor their networks for possible breaches as they are happening. The purchase will let IBM establish itself as the leader of a niche cloud market. That segment is focused on helping financial-services institutions enhance their security and satisfy compliance requirements. With Spanugo, IBM should profit as more of its banking and other financial clients migrate their legacy systems to the cloud. IBM is a buy. buy…