The Best (And Worst) 1Q Channel Stocks

The Best (And Worst) 1Q Channel Stocks Of 2013

Channel stocks enjoyed a banner first quarter, with nine of 14 companies tracked by CRN showing a double-digit percentage increase on Wall Street, and only two companies showing declines in their share price during the first three months of 2013. By comparison, the Dow Jones increased 11.3 percent in the first quarter, while Nasdaq climbed 8.2 percent. Here's a closer look at the best and worst channel stocks so far this year.

ScanSource

CEO: Mike Baur
Dec. 31, 2012: $31.77
Mar. 28, 2013: $28.22
Change: -11.2%


Shares of ScanSource fell nearly $4 on Jan. 25, the day after the company reported its second fiscal quarter financials. Earlier that month, the Greenville, S.C.-based distributor filed a lawsuit against Avanade over an alleged botched ERP project.

Emtec

CEO: Dinesh Desai
Dec. 31, 2012: $1.20
Mar. 28, 2013: $1.17
Change: -2.5%


Emtec's shares fell from $1.20 to $1.01 on Jan. 2 and traded between $1.00 and $1.05 for the rest of the quarter, but increased 14 percent on the last day of the quarter to close at $1.17.

Tech Data

CEO: Bob Dutkowsky
Dec. 31, 2012: $45.53
Mar. 28, 2013: $45.59
Change: 0.1%


Tech Data had a roller-coaster March on Wall Street. Shares closed at $52.23 March 1 before falling $4.43 after the company reported its fiscal-year-end financials. Shares crossed the $50 mark again on March 20, the day before the company said it needed to recalculate and republish three years of financial statements to correct how a U.K.-based subsidiary reflected vendor accounting.

Arrow Electronics

CEO: Mike Long
Dec. 31, 2012: $38.08
Mar. 28, 2013: $40.62
Change: 6.7%


Shares of Arrow reached a high of $41.94 on March 14 after a slow, steady climb for much of the quarter. The stock lost a dollar and change in the last two weeks of the quarter, but still managed a 6.7 percent increase for the first quarter of 2013.

Also in March, Arrow's S3 business forged a new distribution agreement with CounterPath.

Synnex

CEO: Kevin Murai
Dec. 31, 2012: $34.38
Mar. 28, 2013: $37.00
Change: 7.6%


Synnex shares had crossed the $40 plateau the last week of March, but fell after the company reported flat sales and an earnings dip for its fourth fiscal quarter.

Accenture

CEO: Pierre Nanterme
Dec. 31, 2012: $66.50
Mar. 28, 2013: $75.97
Change: 14.2%


Accenture shares climbed above the $70 mark in mid-January and never looked back. On Mar. 28, CFO Pamela Craig announced she would retire this summer after 34 years with the company.

Sapient

CEO: Alan Herrick
Dec. 31, 2012: $10.56
Mar. 28, 2013: $12.19
Change: 15.4%


Sapient had a strong showing in the first quarter of 2013 after being the worst-performing channel stock of 2012.

Ingram Micro

CEO: Alain Monie
Dec. 31, 2012: $16.92
Mar. 28, 2013: $19.68
Change: 16.3%


Ingram Micro's shares increased 16 percent in the first quarter and briefly topped the $20 mark in mid-March. During the quarter, the Santa Ana, Calif.-based distributor launched a hosted collaboration offering with Cisco Systems.

Avnet

CEO: Rick Hamada
Dec. 31, 2012: $30.61
Mar. 28, 2013: $36.20
Change: 18.3%


Avnet recently announced its intent to acquire RTI Holdings to help expand into Hong Kong and China. In January, its stock increased more than $2 a day after announcing its second-quarter results.

Insight Enterprises

CEO: Ken Lamneck
Dec. 31, 2012: $17.37
Mar. 28, 2013: $20.62
Change: 18.7%


Insight was recently named to CRN's TechElite 250 and enjoyed a strong first quarter on Wall Street with a stock increase of nearly 20 percent.

Computer Sciences

CEO: John Lawrie
Dec. 31, 2012: $40.05
Mar. 28, 2013: $49.23
Change: 22.9%


CSC shares gained nearly $4 on Feb. 5, the day after releasing its third fiscal quarter earnings. Shares briefly crossed the $50 mark on March 11, and the company issued a 20-cent-per-share dividend on Mar. 14.

PCM

CEO: Frank Khulusi
Dec. 31, 2012: $6.21
Mar. 28, 2013: $8.30
Change: 33.7%


The former PC Mall began 2013 with its new name, and its rebranding efforts have apparently paid off. After a 1.1-percent stock decline in 2012, PCM's shares increased 33.7 percent in the first quarter.

PC Connection

CEO: Tim McGrath
Dec. 31, 2012: $11.50
Mar. 28, 2013: $16.35
Change: 42.2%


PC Connection earns the distinction of the best-performing channel stock for the first quarter with a 42 percent increase. Shares increased nearly 10 percent on Feb. 1 after the company reported its fourth-quarter financials and continued to climb.

With PCM and PC Connection doing so well, is it any wonder CDW is looking at going public again?