Monster's 6Sense to Support Kforce

Monster Worldwide Inc. (MWW - Analyst Report), a well-known online recruitment firm recently penned a partnership agreement with Kforce Inc. (KFRC - Snapshot Report) to power the recruitment portal of the latter. Kforce is a renowned recruitment firm, which offers employment solutions in the field of technology, finance and health information management.

According to the multi-year contract, Kforce will deploy Monster’s Power Resume Search process, controlled by 6Sense semantic search technology to enhance Kforce’s existing staffing platform. Monster’s Power Resume Search engine clubbed with Kforce’s National Recruiting Center (NRC) process will provide a prolific database to Kforce to gauge proficient candidates for its clients.

A lot of recruiting agencies are adopting Monster’s Power Resume Search process, powered by 6Sense semantic search technology to work in a more efficient manner. It enables companies to search for their required talent pools in one place while quickly identifying and ranking the best potential candidates by perusing the resumes with a recruiter- like understanding of skills and qualifications.

Business has been in doldrums for Monster for quite some time now and it has reported revenues of $246 million in the first quarter of 2012, down 1.6% sequentially and down 5.7% year over year. In the current circumstance, this venture is sure to usher in an excellent opportunity for Monster.

Competition has intensified over the last few years in the online employment advertising market, which in our view has resulted in Monster losing share. The barriers to entry into Internet businesses are relatively low. Though Monster once had a dominant position in the industry, there are now several competitors such as ChinaCache International Holdings Ltd. (CCIH - Snapshot Report), Asure Software, Inc. (ASUR) and E-Commerce China Dangdang Inc. (DANG - Snapshot Report).

The current Zacks Consensus Estimates for Monster are6 cents and 28 cents for the second quarter of 2012 and for fiscal 2012, respectively. As the current macro-economic conditions continue to be challenging, the company continues to have a Zacks #3 Rank, which translates into a short-term ‘Hold’ rating. Nevertheless, in the long run, we maintain a Neutral recommendation on the stock.