Great Call on Apple! What's Next?

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iPods, iPhones, and MacBooks -- oh, my!

It really wasn't all that long ago that Mac computers all over the place were singing "Nobody Knows the Trouble I've Seen" and Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL) was barely ekeing out a profit. And now? The "i" revolution engineered by Steve Jobs has transformed the company into a global powerhouse, and investors just keep coming back for more. On an equity basis, Apple is now valued higher than tech titans like Cisco, Intel (Nasdaq: INTC), and Oracle.

On CAPS there are over 17,000 members that are currently following the ups and downs of Apple and weighing in on its future. While many of these members have been on the right side of Apple's stock, none of those thousands have read the stock better than poorwill. poorwill got bullish on Apple back in July of 2006 and has just kept his thumb up since then. This steadfast belief in the stock has landed poorwill 236 points.

poorwill is one of CAPS' All-Stars -- players with a rating of 80 or greater -- and he has managed a stock picking accuracy of 50% on his calls while racking up over 629 points. Apple hasn't been his only great call. Here's a look at a few of his other prescient picks:

Company	Date Picked	Call	Points	CAPS Rating
Walter Industries (NYSE: WLT)	9/28/06	Outperform	334	***
Energy Conversion Devices (Nasdaq: ENER)	2/5/07	Outperform	101	***
Nuance Communications (Nasdaq: NUAN)	7/13/06	Outperform	82	****

Data from CAPS. Points is how many percentage points a particular call has beaten the S&P 500 since the date of the call.

So what is this investor looking at these days? Here are a few of his most recent calls on CAPS:

Company	Date Picked	Call	CAPS Rating
Syneron Medical (Nasdaq: ELOS)	4/18/08	Outperform	*****
Chevron	4/18/08	Outperform	****
Buffalo Wild Wings	11/21/07	Outperform	****

Data from CAPS.

While not all of these picks may pan out, they could be a good place to start some further research. I decided to take a closer look at Syneron Medical.

The beauty of Syneron
CAPS All-Star mkeszler summed up the opportunity in Syneron's stock back in mid-2007 when he said: "Aging population forever seeking the fountain of youth, increasingly going for cosmetic enhancements. Sure longterm winner, especially at these modest valuations."

And in those two lines he pretty much nailed the high points of this Motley Fool Rule Breaker recommendation. Syneron makes lasers -- no, not the kind of lasers that Dr. Evil would strap on to sharks -- that can remove unwanted hair, tighten skin, or reduce cellulite. Translation: Syneron's products can make you look younger, thinner, and simply better. And what's even more beautiful is the fact that you can currently buy the stock for less than 14 times its trailing earnings.

But you don't get a deal like that without some complications. The market for aesthetic lasers seems to be faltering lately and Syneron competitors like Candela and Palomar have seen profits fall through the floor. As its most recent quarter shows, Syneron has been keeping some spring in its step, but results haven't been knocking anybody's socks off, and the company has a management team that excels at avoiding straight talk.

At the end of the day, though, the positives seem to outweigh the negatives for Syneron. Over the next couple years, it should see its business in the U.S. recover and the market in general develop further. And that's not to mention the deal it has with Procter & Gamble (NYSE: PG) to sell a home use product. And even if tight times do persist, Syneron has a ridiculous amount of cash on its balance sheet that should help it fend off anything the economy throws at it over the next couple years.

So what's your take on Syneron? Is it just too cheap to pass up? Get in the action by clicking over to CAPS. CAPS is absolutely free and already has over 115,000 stock pickers chipping in to find the best stocks out there.

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