Omnivision
Semiconductor companies are rarely sexy, but Omnivision has been a flashy exception. Its primary product, an image sensor called CameraChip, is used to power digital cameras and mobile camera phones, two devices that have seen dramatic sales growth in the past year. Nokia
Such a hot market is rarely left alone for long. Agilent
Ultimately, Omnivision's internal review and restatement of results have increased 2004 net income by $2.7 million to $58.7 million. However, the damage has already been done. Attorneys have been quick to hit the lawsuit button, suing Omnivision for stock fraud.
These troubles obscure the fact that Omnivision has great financials that are worth framing up. It has $200 million cash in the bank and no debt. Its P/E (TTM) ratio of 18 is a good value for a tech company that experienced triple-digit percentage growth in both revenue and income between 2003 and 2004. As the market leader in image sensors for the cell-phone market, Omnivision is perfectly positioned to take advantage of this profitable trend.
With such photogenic fundamentals, Omnivision is still a stock to consider despite its current case of bad exposure.
Fool contributor Tim Goh owns a camera phone, but he does not take photos with it. He doesn't own stock in any of the companies mentioned.