Harris Corp. (NYSE: HRS) has had a nice run. Over the past five years, the stock price has gone from $14 to $59.

The company is a key player in communications and IT - with about 7,000 engineers and scientists. With the spread of terrorism and the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, the company's skill sets are certainly "must haves."

But, trends do come to an end (especially in the defense industry). That may be the thinking with the folks at Harris. That is, according to a report in the Wall Street Journal (subscription only), it looks like the company is shopping itself for a potential sale.

I doubt they will have much trouble finding suitors. After all, the sector is full of major operators looking to bulk things up, such as Raytheon (NYSE: RTN), BAE Systems PLC (NASDAQ: BAESY) and Northrop Grumman (NYSE: NOC).

Moreover, the fundamentals still are intact at Harris. According to its Q1 report, revenues increased from $1.07 billion to $1.33 billion. Net income came to $108 million, or $0.78 per share.

So far in today's trading, the shares of Harris are up about 9%.

Tom Taulli is the author of various books, including The Complete M&A Handbook and The Edgar Online Guide to Decoding Financial Statements. He also operates MergerBook.com.

Harris Corp. in play? originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 09 May 2008 13:27:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

MAJOR PAPERS:

• Harris Corporation (NYSE: HRS), concerned about its future growth, may see limited opportunity and may consider selling itself, the Wall Street Journal reported. If it does decide to sell, suitors could include Raytheon Company (NYSE: RTN), BAE Systems Plc (OTC: BAESY) and Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE: NOC).
• The Wall Street Journal reported that, in an attempt to toughen its regulation standards, SEC chairman Christopher Cox said earlier this week the agency would push Wall Street investment houses will have to reduce borrowing and rely less on short-term financing.
• As part of plans to reduce costs and restore profit growth, people close to the situation said that Citigroup Incorporated (NYSE: C) is likely to today identify up to $400B in non-core assets that could be sold. Additionally, the Financial Times reported that Citigroup CEO Vikram Pandit will confirm his pledge to cut the bank's cost base by about 20% at a meeting with analysts today. Sources familiar with the matter believe Pandit will dismiss calls for a break-up of the company.

• According to sources, the New York Post reported that the ax may fall as early as next week on some investment bankers at The Bear Stearns Companies Inc (NYSE: BSC).

Newspaper wrap-up: Harris ponders future and considers selling originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 09 May 2008 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.