After spending more than six months at a mediocre three-star rank, OmniVision Technologies (Nasdaq: OVTI) has impressed enough top-performing members of our 160,000-strong Motley Fool CAPS community to once again touch the four-star level. A total of 611 members have given their opinion on the imaging semiconductor developer, with many of them offering analysis and commentary explaining the recent optimism.

With the growing demand for high-quality image-capturing capability in wireless phones, notebook computers, digital cameras, and other devices, many CAPS members have become more bullish on OmniVision's ability to capture a good piece of a broad market.

The company recently reported a fiscal third-quarter profit compared to a loss in the prior year, with revenue that almost doubled from the prior year. And thanks to an improved product mix, the company has experienced improving gross margins on a sequential and year-over-year basis. Despite a post-holiday seasonal slowdown and a fourth-quarter outlook that fell short of Wall Street's expectations, OmniVision looks for improving sales trends for the summer and fall periods, which should offer a boost to its numbers in the coming quarters.

Though it's a small fish in a big ocean, OmniVision has a strong relationship with manufacturing partner Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing (NYSE: TSM) and holds a commanding share in many of its markets such as notebooks and security. It also works with and supports some big tech names like Qualcomm (Nasdaq: QCOM), Dell (Nasdaq: DELL), and Microsoft (Nasdaq: MSFT).

Investors are particularly excited about the design wins that OmniVision recently scored with a couple of smartphone makers and expect the company to continue to rack up new orders in this hot segment. With companies like Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL) and Research In Motion (Nasdaq: RIMM) eager to place higher-quality image sensors in their smartphones, the trend toward higher margins for OmniVision shows some legs, too. Top this off with the positive signs that OmniVision has seen from its emerging segments like automotive and medical -- which are continuing to develop and add to its available market -- and it's easy to see why investors are more bullish on the company's future these days.                           

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