(Reuters) – Solid-state drive maker Stec Inc should consider strategic alternatives including a sale, its biggest independent shareholder said in a letter to the company that expressed “serious concern” about its strategic direction.

Balch Capital, which holds 9 percent of Stec, said the company’s response to intensifying competition has been to broaden its product line and dramatically increase its operating expenses, particularly in research and development, in an effort to gain scale and compete. “Yet, there is no commensurate increase in revenues or profits,” the letter said.

Stec’s largest shareholders are the members of the family of co-founder Manouch Moshayedi.

The company has a market value of about $225 million.

(Reporting by Chandni Doulatramani in Bangalore; Editing by Ted Kerr)