Despite all of Wall Street's conflict and contention, a fortunate few companies enjoy unanimous support among professional analysts. If the market's movers and shakers all believe these companies will beat the long-term averages, well, surely they will -- right?
Not so fast! With help from the 180,000 members of Motley Fool CAPS, we'll see whether these high-flying favorites deserve analysts' unwavering support.
|
Stock |
CAPS Rating |
CAPS Bullish Sentiment |
No. Wall Street Analysts |
52-Week Price Change |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Spirit Airlines |
* | 50% | 3 | NA |
|
Biolase Technology |
* | 71% | 1 | 289% |
|
QuickLogic |
** | 85% | 1 | 29% |
Source: Motley Fool CAPS.
Taxiing for takeoff
Because Congress failed to approve the FAA budget, the agency laid off 4,000 workers, halted construction projects, and stopped the collection of taxes, meaning passengers could save money as a result. Not surprisingly, Delta Air Lines
Not all airlines chose to enrich themselves at the expense of their passengers. Spirit Airlines was one that chose to pass along the entire savings to travelers. Its customers began saving up to $50 on a round-trip ticket and it saw the volume of tickets sold jump 22% in the first three days it was in effect.
Spirit only went public in May, but it's already making a name for itself. It quickly latched onto the scandal surrounding former congressman Anthony Weiner and offered "fares too hard to resist." As it works to cement itself as the go-to airline for discount travel, the CAPS community is evenly divided on whether it can beat the market, no doubt because running an airline profitably is no easy task these days, particularly if you're not nickel-and-diming your customers.
Spirit may not have gouged its passengers this time, but CAPS All-Star brewersfan81 says its cut-rate pricing means it is exactly the sort of charge-for-everything-else airline that passengers hate:
Having used these guys before, I can tell you that after all the extras they charge you, they are no low-cost carrier. Additionally, they have terrible customer service, and their seats leave less room than anyone I have flown before.
Get into the spirit of things and let us know in the comments section below or on the Spirit Airlines CAPS page whether the stock is ready to take off.
New frontiers
Dental laser maker Biolase Technology has been generating significant new sales, more than doubling revenues each time for the past few quarters, but there's always been a slight slipup that's caused it to stumble -- usually related to its agreement with medical supplies distributor Henry Schein
In the first quarter, despite revenues rising 140% from the year-ago period, international revenue was hurt by renegotiating its agreement with Henry Schein. It regained full rights to its products in the quarter overseas and would sell through multiple distributors. Second-quarter revenue more than doubled, but a significant change order request late in the period by the distributor prevented shipment of a large number of orders.
Fortunately, it's just a timing issue and those products should go out in the third quarter. The business looks like it's gaining traction and Biolase is focused laser-like on growth. CAPS member ifool100 finds Biolase dental lasers to be at a defining point in the industry:
This business hasn't reached "critical mass" yet. Once you've had laser - you never want to go back to shots or drilling. It's kind of like the ultimate marketing product. It literally takes away the pain. Not only that, but because laser only affects the cavity, it leaves more tooth structure. So you keep your teeth longer.
Add Biolase Technology to your watchlist to keep tabs on whether its results will keep you smiling.
Dialing up growth
One of the critiques of Apple's iPad is that it's little more than a glorified iPhone -- without the phone. The bigger form factor is sleek, but you actually can do more with a device you can slip into your pocket. Manufacturers are rushing to fuse that criticism into a single gadget, a tablet phone. The Dell
QuickLogic is hoping they catch on quickly, as it's providing the display technology behind Pantech's offering, having received the first volume order for its technology that enhances the viewing experience without heavily drawing down the battery.
It remains to be seen whether these hybrids will catch on. With screens between 5 and 7 inches, they don't fit in your pocket and don't necessarily lend themselves to optimal viewing otherwise.
While CAPS All-Star senojmas thinks tablet makers will find QuickLogic's products essential, nearly a third of the All-Stars overall aren't sure it can beat the broad market averages. Add QuickLogic to the Fool's free portfolio tracker for complete coverage of its developments.
Agree to disagree
It pays to start your own research on these stocks on Motley Fool CAPS. Read a company's financial reports, scrutinize key data and charts, and examine the comments your fellow investors have made, all from a stock's CAPS page.
Sign up today for the completely free service, and tell us whether these stocks deserve to be Wall Street darlings.
