AuthenTec (AUTH)

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Three New Technology Stocks That Will Skyrocket This Year Thanks To Mobile Commerce


Read more: http://www.businessinsider.com/three-new-technology-stocks-that-will-skyrocket-this-year-thanks-to-mobile-commerce-2011-1#ixzz1BS4vQRGe


Securing the Transaction

One obvious issue arising from the transition to mobile commerce is security. We have discussed securing content and the wireless transmission of the transaction between device and receiver but now we need to secure the consumer. This is where I am looking to biometrics; Authentec (AUTH) offers the smallest fingerprint reader with navigation capabilities for mobile devices. This is one of the last public biometric security companies left after recent acquisitions of both L1 Identity (ID) and Cogent (COGT) both at significantly higher valuations.

Authentec has lagged in the past but I believe this is about to change. The majority of commercial activity in the biometric space to this point has been large scale commercial or government deployments for securing agencies or organizations. The consumer market for these devices has been negligible. Now that is about to change as the consumer is faced with new options like mobile wallets in cell phones that require an added layer of security. This is where Authentec is well positioned.


Analysts believe revenues will grow 55% next year to about $70 million. Management has already indicated it expects momentum to build in 2011 as design wins start to come to fruition. Being one of the last independent publicly traded biometric companies, with strong projected growth, it may not stay independent for long. Either way the need to secure new NFC enabled mobile devices for consumer transactions should drive growth for Authentec and the share price significantly higher.

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Read more: http://www.businessinsider.com/three-new-technology-stocks-that-will-skyrocket-this-year-thanks-to-mobile-commerce-2011-1#ixzz1BS5Mv4Lc