Don't you love a good knee to the groin sometimes? That's what the market just gave to shareholders in Motley Fool Stock Advisor pick TTM Technologies (NASDAQ:TTMI). It hurts a bit today, but I think it'll feel all better in a few months. In fact, it's the best medicine we non-owners could have asked for.
Let me explain. Three months ago, the quick-turn circuit board maker had a strong earnings report to show us, and after that, the company had its credit rating upgraded and its stock added to the S&P Small-Cap index, alongside property insurance provider Tower Group (NASDAQ:TWGP). As of yesterday, the share price had shot up some 39% since the day before that May report. That's a pricey valuation compared to recent history.
And so TTM released fresh numbers last night, in line with management guidance (albeit on the low side), and offered a somewhat gloomy next-quarter outlook. BAM! That's the end of that stratospheric price-to-earnings ratio. Today's share price is a scant 3% better than it was three months ago, and down roughly 20% overnight.
According to management comments, this is a temporary slowdown caused by soft orders from an unnamed "key networking customer" that has since returned to the healthy order volumes of old. If you want to make a guess, TTM's published customer list includes Cisco Systems (NASDAQ:CSCO), Juniper Networks (NASDAQ:JNPR), and ailing giant Motorola (NYSE:MOT).
So what we have here is the popping of an exuberant bubble, returning the stock to more reasonable buy-in or add-on levels. There's nothing permanently flawed about these results, nothing that would indicate a long-term problem, so if you believe in the quick-release PCB business in general, TTM could be your stock choice today. The company says that its main competition includes Sanmina-SCI (NASDAQ:SANM), DDI (NASDAQ:DDIC), and Merix (NASDAQ:MERX), and unlike any of those three, TTM is profitable on a trailing basis.
Further Foolishness:
- TTM Turns a Terrific Trick
- TTM: Excellence Undiscovered
- Sanmina's Downward Spiral
- Color to the Numbers: Top Hypergrowth Stocks
TTM Technologies is a Motley Fool Stock Advisor recommendation. You can find out why with a 30-day free trial of the newsletter.
Fool contributor Anders Bylund holds no position in any of the companies discussed here. He recommends wearing a protective cup when investing in high-growth, high-risk companies. You can check out Anders' holdings if you like, and (let's sing it!) Foolish disclosure makes the medicine go down.
