AuthenTec, Inc. stock was upgraded from “Outperform” to “Strong Buy” by Raymond James Financial on Thursday (June 12th). The announcement fueled a rapid appreciation of 12.3 percent for the day.

AuthenTec itself has been growing by leaps and bounds, seeing a 67 percent revenue increase in the first quarter of 2008. In a recent conference call held to discuss the quarter ended March 31st, the company expressed the belief that 2008 revenues will only continue to grow. It is estimated that earnings for the second quarter will total more than $17.2 million, as a result of large-volume shipments of the company’s “AES 2810″ PC fingerprint-authentication product. It has also been reported that Intel’s Montevina laptops will come equipped with the AES 2810 sensors, to begin shipping in the second half of 2008.

In addition, AuthenTec has announced its intent to step up research and development efforts in a play for an

On May 28, homeland security analyst Brian Ruttenbur praised which firm for its fingerprint-verification tech?

Ruttenbur’s first pick among homeland security companies is AuthenTec (AUTH), a maker of fingerptint-authentication sensors .

“They’re growing roughly 45-50 percent a year, and they’re going on laptops and cell phones,” he said.  “You’ll see the first cell phones [with fingerprint sensors] in the U.S. this year.”

Authentec doesn’t show up on my screens because it doesn’t make any money yet.