3Com Gears Up for Cisco Challenge

Nonetheless, the market has responded well to 3Com's story. The company's shares have risen steadily in 2009, almost doubling in value to reach their current level around $4.58.

Analyst firm Needham & Company recently initiated 3Com coverage with a Buy rating and a $7 price target, citing the firm's ability to grow in a tight IT spending environment.

Thomson Reuters expect 3Com to post earnings of 5 cents a share and sales of $294.78 million when it posts results before the market opens Thursday. In the same period last year, 3Com recorded sales of $321.3 million and a loss of 41 cents a share, thanks largely to a $158 million charge associated with its Tipping Point acquisition.

Other tech manufacturers are also likely to be following 3Com's progress. In addition to Cisco, 3Com faces a stiff challenge from Hewlett-Packard(HPQ), which is aggressively pushing its own ProCurve products into the networking space.

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