IPG Photonics
Since that day, the hits have simply kept coming, making fellow Fool Eric Jhonsa look really smart for picking the laser-components builder as the best tech stock for 2011. The stock has more than doubled year-to-date, even after a slight dip on this morning's first-quarter earnings news.
Yup, the bottle rocket lost about 3% of altitude in morning trading. You see, the report was merely great and not mindblowingly awesome.
Earnings of $0.47 per share beat the analyst consensus by a mere $0.04 per share, 95% year-over-year sales growth outdistanced the Street by just 5%, and second-quarter guidance was just a little bit higher than the current consensus.
As you can see, a whole lot of good vibrations had already been priced into the stock. Sales were strong across all geographies and product categories -- with particular strength in China and Europe, and a focus on marking, welding, and cutting applications.
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Is IPG's rocket ride running out of fuel, or will the second quarter astonish investors again? Add IPG Photonics to your watchlist and you'll be the first to know. And then you can discuss the company's future in the comments below.