Yep. Thats right. I think this thing has been sold off to the point where there are no more sellers to be found. I say to look for the bottom the last week in December and then it will take off. It has a P/E of 15, brings in 1.2 billion in revenue and they have 4 dollars in cash for every share on the books (current price 6 and change), no debt, etc. Their financials are perfect and the tax selling will be done by the end of December. Arguably, this may be one of the very few stocks to long into the market correction. This thing will most likely be taken over or bought at some point. Maybe by google or yahoo... Any and all tax selling will most likely be done by last week in December. Then its time to go long. Wait though, wait until the last week in December. I think there is still a little bit more downside...
yahoo shows 1.13 per share cash. sales growth is abysmal (under 5% range). and company isn't consistently profitable, posting losses in the near term. I like SNDK and MOT for all the criteria you mention above --- two stocks beat down on last earnings calls with great cash positions, nice growth rates (especially SNDK), and a lot more upside than down.
Why buy/own Earthlink? They're essentially an infrastructure reseller so most of their revenue goes somewhere else. Kinda like another AOL with less overhead.
The current business model is not wildly successful. However, the question is if the company is a buy at the current price and what downside is there left... Seeing as this was one of the few stocks that was not bid up during the tech rally, the downside appears minimal at this point in time. I would prefer to buy it in the low 6s. Earthlink still is a known and recognizable name. At the current price, it could be bought out by a larger concern and turned around fairly easily.
i have followed this company for a long time, don't forget about the secondary/loan they just got (I forgot what they did I think loan), that would add debt. The biggest problem they have is a hostile regulatory environment (locking them out of many competitive areas) and really really bad management. I agree as a value buyer you could see a pop but this is the type or organization that could just get worse and worse.. just like the debt their taking on now. (So its not debt free anymore).