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first ICE Block order and MWC notes +1

11:33 26-Feb-18


CUI Global has issued a press release documenting the first order for 400 of its ICE Block products and additional ICE Switches for a total of $2.9M.  This would seem to place the product at or above the high end of the range given in my initial note, but there is still no word on margins.  Furthermore, it is noted that safety certifications have not been received yet, and the products are not expected to ship until the fourth quarter.  So even though this order does seem indicative of demand, I'm not sure it should move the stock very much, especially since I remain of the opinion that peak shifting will be best handled by the utilities themselves in the long run.

Moving on to Mobile World Congress, the most significant observation so far is the speed of Huawei's move into 5G and that it includes its own chipset.  The Chinese company has collaborated with Vodafone to complete the world’s first call using the Non Stand-Alone (NSA) 3GPP 5G new radio (NR) standard.  Vodafone is in turn partnering with Samsung to capitalize on a wave of 5G home devices.  I've been watching Vodafone raise capital, and have talked about possible reasons why, but I'm not willing to jump back into a VOD position at current prices just yet.