Look out Robert Half International Inc. (NYSE:RHI), and move over Kelly Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:KELYA). Staffing 360 Solutions Inc. (OTCBB:STAF) is close to bringing the fight for market visibility to your turf, by graduating from its OTC listing to a NASDAQ listing. Once the upgrade is complete, it's going to be one more reason (in case growth wasn't enough) investors would choose STAF over RHI or KELYA to fill a void in their portfolios.
In retrospect, nobody can be surprised; everybody had to see it coming. Staffing 360 Solutions went from a company doing less than a million dollars per year in revenue less than a year ago to a company that's boasting an annualized revenue run rate of more than $100 million. At its current pace, employing the same acquisition strategy, STAF expects to be producing annual revenue of $300 million. A higher-level listing was inevitable, and the company made it official today by announcing it has applied with the NASDAQ to see its stock listed on its exchange. It's a serious upgrade to the company's credibility, not to mention it would allow a whole new batch of buyers (who can't or won't buy OTC stocks) access to Staffing 360 Solutions. In that regard, the upgrade could be a big bullish catalyst for STAF.
Staffing 360 Solutions Inc. is specifically applying for the NASDAQ Capital Market - one of three tiers of listings the electronic exchange offers. And, as it stands right now, it's on pace to meet all the standards it needs to in order to graduate to the senior exchange. Namely, it needs stockholder equity of $4 million, a market cap of $15 million, two years of operating history (pro forma will do, which STAF can make happen despite the short lifespan of the company as we know it today), at least a million publicly-traded shares, 300 (or more) shareholders, and a share price grater than $3.00. STAF satisfies all of those except for the minimum share price, which may be resolved or worked around by the time the listing decision is made.
Regardless of where it's listed, STAF is a compelling opportunity because of the amazing - albeit troubling - spree of cybercrime.
IT security firm Prolexic recently said U.S. cyber-attacks grew more than 30% last year and were responsible for nearly 20% of data center outages - just one of many ways cyber-attacks can do damage - in the U.S. in 2013. With the average cost of an outage topping $600,000 the need for qualified IT security help is clear.
The solution to that problem is more cybersecurity specialists, which is Staffing 360 Solutions' area of expertise. And, it's a brilliant niche to focus on. Experts say we're more than 300,000 people short of the total number of cybersecurity specialists we need. The Bureau of Labor Statistics forecasts a proportional number for the United States, saying the number of information security specialists the U.S. is going to need by 2018 is more than 50% greater than the number we currently have. If companies want the right people in place, they're going to have to come to STAF to get the best of the best.
In any case, this morning's news is the beginning of a real victory for the company, and for STAF shareholders. As potent as the stock is now, a NASDAQ listing could be game-changing... in a good way. Kelly Services, Robert Half International, and a bunch of other staffing agencies may want to look over their shoulder a little more often now.
Investors interested in learning more about Staffing 360 Solutions can visit the company's website here. It's got several investor-centric publications available.
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