Is the Sorrento ride over, or is it just beginning?

Once again, Sorrento Networks Corp.'s (Nasdaq: FIBR) investors are asking themselves that very question. Sorrento has enjoyed a string of positive announcements lately, and its stock price has reflected the fact that investors are expecting great things.

Tuesday, in fact, was another banner day for Sorrento's stock, which moved on no news whatsoever. Shares of Sorrento rose 3.13 to 28.5, a gain of more than 12 percent.

The rise could be attributed to a recovery in the markets in general, but it may also be due to a recent mention in the Gilder Technology Report, the technology newletter published by George Gilder. Under the subheading, “Stealthy Sorrento,” the report, published last Thursday, noted that the underlying technology powering Sorrento’s all-optical switch -- be it MEMs, bubbles, liquid crystals -- is still unknown.

The report also said that Sorrento CEO Xin Cheng exhibits “David Huber-like stealthiness,” which may or may not be a compliment. The point here is that even the most brief of mentions from Gilder’s report has the tendency to move stock prices, and Sorrento was no exception.

Sorrento started the year off with a bang by naming a new CFO and publicizing a patent that was granted back in November along with 20 additional pending patents (see Sorrento Names CFO).

Next, only one day before Osicom's annual shareholder's meeting, Sorrento announced it expects to report fourth quarter revenues for fiscal 2001 of around $10.6 million (see Osicom Projects 50% Sorrento Growth).

Then, Sorrento shares rallied as Osicom shareholders voted to complete the combination of Sorrento and Osicom and increase the number of the new firm's authorized shares to 150 million. This makes the company more attractive to potential suitors and potential recruits.

In the past week, shares of Sorrento have risen from around 20 to as high as 26.38. And, though Osicom’s market capitalization was less than $150 million in the final days of the year 2000, Sorrento’s market cap is now just north of $320 million.

Sorrento, of course, still remains one of the most hard-to-read companies in the sector (see Sorrento (FIBR) (formerly Osicom)). The shares have traded to a 52-week high of 145.11 and as low as 10.00 during that same period (see http://www.lightreading.com