CHICAGO, Jan. 7, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Zacks.com Analyst Blog features: j2 Global Communications Inc. (Nasdaq: JCOM), Open Text Corp. (Nasdaq: OTEX), EasyLink Services Int. Corp. (Nasdaq: ESIC), Premiere Global Services Inc. (NYSE: PGI) and Microsoft Corp (Nasdaq: MSFT).

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Here are highlights from Thursday's Analyst Blog:

j2 Global Upgraded to Outperform

We upgrade our recommendation for j2 Global Communications Inc. (Nasdaq: JCOM) to Outperform. We believe the company's strong financial position and diversified product pipeline, in synergy with the long-term growth prospects for outsourced value-added messaging services, will drive valuation levels higher in the near future.

Subscriber usage revenue continues to beat market expectations. This is an important parameter as credit-sensitive customers constitute a majority of j2 Global's sales. The company mainly competes with Open Text Corp. (Nasdaq: OTEX), EasyLink Services Int. Corp. (Nasdaq: ESIC) and Premiere Global Services Inc. (NYSE: PGI).

Exploration of new opportunities for both digital fax and voice services, through continuous acquisitions, facilitated j2 Global to solidify its market position within the industry. The company achieved a huge reduction in the cancel rate in the last quarter. j2 Global has reduced its cancel rate to the pre-recession 2006 level of 2.6%.

Supported by strong free cash flow, management decided to repurchase up to 10 million common shares over the next two years, which would be approximately 22% of the company's total shares outstanding.

Last December, j2 Global Communications acquired Canada-based Protus IP Solutions Inc., a Software-as-a-service (SaaS) solutions provider for business enterprises. Protus has three flagship products. These are: MyFax (Internet fax), Campaigner (email marketing), and My1Voice (virtual phone service).

We believe the primary reason for j2 Global's decision is the huge synergy between the two company's flagship products. Target market for MyFax, Campaigner, and My1Voice are very much similar to that of j2 Global's own eFax, Electric Mail, and eVoice products.

Microsoft "Kinect"ing the World

Microsoft Corp (Nasdaq: MSFT) CEO Steve Ballmer's keynote at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) was focused on the recent success of its motion-sensing controller, Kinect. Sales touched 8 million units in the first 60 days after launch, better than Microsoft's revised expectations of 5 million units and much better than its initial expectations of around 3 million units.

Kinect was always expected to do well, considering the publicity it has received since CES 2010. But the xBox console has also had a very good year, which increased the market for Kinect.

Kinect seeks to give the user a unique, real-life gaming experience, where gestures and verbal directions are sufficient and remote controls can be forgotten for good. Not just that, but Microsoft has extended the experience to movies and other videos currently subscribed to by xBox users.

What was not mentioned of course was that some users were already encountering problems, claiming that plugging in the device caused their consoles to break down. Users have also pointed out that the devices nearing the end of their warranty periods had been more prone to breakdowns (as per BBC reports).

No doubt this is a temporary setback, and Microsoft will be quick to rectify the situation -- especially since the company has claimed that 2011 will be the year of the Kinect.

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