Well, Brocade Communications Systems Inc.'s (BRCD) fiscal third-quarter profit did top Wall Street's estimate as the networking equipment maker benefited from the takeover of a big-selling rival, but was still weighed down by heavy acquisition and legal costs. So overall a neutral result. The stock went up nicely along with the market and even got some analyst upgrades.

Management was cautiously optimistic in it's guidance and competitors like Cisco and EMC have also reported and forecast good results.

Learning Tip : Always examine competitors performances when looking at a company. It gives you a good way to compare and assess a company's performance. Also at a sector level, if they are all forecasting good results, it is a signal that further growth in the sector is expected.

I think I will stay with Brocade for a bit longer to see if they can deliver, however will sell if any bad news is reported.

Andy