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What: Shares of fiber-based laser and amplifier maker IPG Photonics
So what: IPG shares have slumped in recent months on concerns over slowing global growth, but today's strong second-quarter results -- revenue increased 13%, while net income increased 23% -- coupled with an equally encouraging current-quarter outlook eases some of those concerns. In fact, demand for pulsed lasers held up particularly well in Europe, with record sales in Russia, giving investors good reason to be optimistic about its future growth.
Now what: Management now sees third-quarter EPS of $0.74 to $0.84 on revenue of $145 million to $155 million, versus the consensus estimates of $0.72 and $143.9 million, respectively. "Despite the macroeconomic environment in our various geographic markets, there are several factors counteracting these conditions to drive our growth, including the adoption of fiber lasers over other laser technologies, the use of lasers in an increasing number of applications, and strong demand trends in key industries, including automotive and consumer electronics," said CEO Dr. Valentin Gapontsev. More importantly, with the stock still off about 27% from its 52-week high, there's more than enough to room to buy into those tailwinds.
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