"Increasing confidence that INFN is poised for share gains exiting the downturn. The magnitude of 3Q09 upside and bullish 4Q09 outlook increase our confidence in not only Infinera’s ability to participate in a broader optical industry recovery, but
also its prospects for accelerating share gains outside of its historically largest customer, Level 3. Customer orders, excluding Level 3, surged by 38% sequentially."

"Top Nortel optical engineer to lead new Ottawa R&D center. The addition of Dr. Kuang-Tsan Wu in late September to lead Infinera’s new Ottawa R&D center could calm investor fears on its 40G/100G prospects. Infinera appears to be recruiting key Nortel engineering talent instead of participating in the Nortel auction."

"We advise small-cap growth managers to build core positions in INFN based on the magnitude of 3Q09 upside and favorable 4Q09 guidance, which increase our confidence that INFN is well positioned for share gains, improving growth and margin expansion going into 2010. While optical vendors were arguably among the equipment
suppliers hit most severely during the downturn, these same vendors could realize the most meaningful rebound as the industry recovers off a three-year spending low— particularly those suppliers with high North America exposure. Our bullish stance on
INFN is based on (1) significant margin leverage in a recovery given that it has a vertically integrated fab, (2) new metro and submarine products that nearly double its addressable market, (3) an expanding customer footprint that has doubled in two
years, (4) new leadership starting in January, and (5) the increasing probability of industry consolidation as optical and core routing become more tightly coupled."