EZchip rallies on prospects it'll be eating Cisco's lunch

New York

SHARES of EZchip Semiconductor Ltd have been stuck in a multi-year slump on concern large customers such as Cisco Systems Inc would become competitors. Now they're rallying on the prospect it may not need Cisco at all.

EZchip, which makes processors for edge routers in cable and phone networks, won its first deals to supply chips to cloud data centres in the second quarter, chief executive officer Eli Fruchter told investors Aug 12. That, along with an earnings report that beat estimates, helped fuel a 22 per cent rally last week, the biggest since 2008.