The Bull Case for Cree

The future's so bright, I gotta wear shades. Today's inefficient light bulbs and fluorescent tubes are going the way of the dodo over the next few years, and a host of new technologies are lining up to replace them all. This could be the biggest market opportunity you'll ever see.

In the thick of it all stands LED lighting expert Cree (Nasdaq: CREE  ) . While larger LED competitors such as General Electric (NYSE: GE  ) and Philips (NYSE: PHG  ) are preparing to replace their existing lighting sales with new technologies, Cree has nothing to lose and everything to win.

And there's a real urgency to Cree's growth right now. After growing sales at a modest 10% per year, with shrinking earnings and compressed margins over the previous three years, Cree roared back to life in fiscal 2010. Revenue exploded with 53% year-over-year growth, earnings per share more than quadrupled, and the operating cash flows are back on track.

Much of that fresh cash is being reinvested right away in greater manufacturing capacity, which is the right way to prepare for a long period of high demand. And because the lighting market is so enormous, it doesn't matter if Universal Display (Nasdaq: PANL  ) and its OLED companions steal a significant slice, while Philips, GE, and Siemens (NYSE: SI  ) improve their traditional and LED offerings, too. This town really is big enough for another gunslinger.

I picked an inopportune time to give Cree an "outperform" rating in CAPS, and I'm currently losing ratings points on that pick. But I remain convinced that the company will reward me richly over the coming years, as the market adjusts to a new reality in the lighting industry. Start a position today -- in CAPS or real money -- and you'll have the additional advantage of an attractive starting price.