5-Star Stocks Poised to Pop: ISTA Pharmaceuticals

Based on the aggregated intelligence of 150,000-plus investors participating in Motley Fool CAPS, the Fool's free investing community, ophthalmic drug company ISTA Pharmaceuticals (Nasdaq: ISTA  ) has earned a coveted five-star ranking.

With that in mind, let's take a closer look at ISTA's business and see what CAPS investors are saying about the stock right now.

ISTA facts

Headquarters (Founded)	Irvine, Calif. (1992)
Market Cap	$120 million
Industry	Pharmaceuticals
Trailing-12-Month Revenue	$104 million
Management	CEO Dr. Vicente Anido, Jr. (since 2001) CFO Lauren Silvernail (since 2003)
Return on Assets (Average, Past 3 Years)	(19.8%)
Compound Annual Revenue Growth (Average, Past 3 Years)	62.3%
Cash/Debt	$55 million / $70 million
Competitors	Pfizer (NYSE: PFE  ) Novartis (NYSE: NVS  ) Johnson & Johnson (NYSE: JNJ  )
CAPS Members Bullish on ISTA Also Bullish on	American Oriental Bioengineering (NYSE: AOB  ) Vale (NYSE: VALE  )
CAPS Members Bearish on ISTA Also Bearish on	Dendreon (Nasdaq: DNDN  )

Sources: Capital IQ (a division of Standard & Poor's) and Motley Fool CAPS.

On CAPS, 92% of the 92 members who have rated ISTA believe the stock will outperform the S&P 500 going forward. These bulls include All-Star zzlangerhans, who is ranked in the top 0.5% of our community, and fireinyoureyes.

Late last month, zzlangerhans singled out ISTA as a sight for sore eyes: "Improving sales of ophthalmic medications appear to have reduced the burn and preserved cash, as long as there won't be any further 'warranty valuation losses'. A likely positive short-term catalyst is FDA acceptance of the sNDA for once-daily Xibrom."

In a pitch from two days ago, fireinyoureyes follows that line of reasoning:

It should go up after the next earnings report as Bepreve starts to grow, and Xibrom continues to lead the market. Another catalyst will be the Xibrom-once daily mid 2010 approval date which will cement Xibrom's market share. With Novartis finishing up scooping [Alcon], I'm sure big pharma will by eyeing (pardon the pun) Ista in the next couple of years, hopefully well after Ista grows in earnings and stock price. With a good pipeline and positive 2010 income on the way, the stock price is much undervalued. I'm very bullish at these levels.

What do you think about ISTA, or any other stock for that matter? If you want to retire rich, you need to put together the best portfolio you can. Owning exceptional stocks is a surefire way to secure your financial future, and on Motley Fool CAPS, thousands of investors are working every day to find them. CAPS is 100% free, so get started!.