Ahead Of The Bell: NICE Systems Upgraded

NEW YORK (AP) — NICE Systems Ltd. was upgraded at William Blair & Co. on Wednesday after the Israeli security systems company said it acquired Fortent, a company that makes software for preventing money laundering and other financial crimes.

Nice announced its $73.5 million, cash acquisition of New York-based Fortent on Monday.

William Blair analyst Jonathan Ho said the deal will "significantly strengthen NICE's market position, generating a projected $100 million in revenue." He raised his rating on the stock to "Outperform" from "Market Perform."

"We believe the Fortent acquisition offers the benefit of a new growth engine for the business in an attractive market," Ho said.

He added that NICE has a history of "strong acquisitions" and could use this one to build a broader customer base.