Based on the aggregated intelligence of 180,000-plus investors participating in Motley Fool CAPS, the Fool's free investing community, fiber laser and amplifier maker IPG Photonics (Nasdaq: IPGP) has earned a respected four-star ranking.

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

IPG facts

Headquarters (Founded) Oxford, Mass. (1990)
Market Cap $2.91 billion
Industry Electronic manufacturing services
Trailing-12-Month Revenue $348 million
Management

Founder/Chairman/CEO Dr. Valentin Gapontsev

CFO Timothy Mammen
Return on Equity (Average, Past 3 Years) 13.3%
Cash/Debt $160.6 million / $26.2 million
Competitors

Coherent (Nasdaq: COHR)

EMCORE (Nasdaq: EMKR)

JDS Uniphase (Nasdaq: JDSU)

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

On CAPS, 97% of the 1,083 members who have rated IPG believe the stock will outperform the S&P 500 going forward. These bulls include 707oxford and All-Star TMF1000, who is ranked in the top 0.5% of our community.

This past spring, 707oxford tapped the stock as a sharp way to go for growth:

Laser Fiber Optics is an emerging industry. IPGP is the clear leader with a majority of the market share and the best technology. The upside for investors here is very high.

Over the next five years, in fact, IPG is expected to grow its bottom line at a brisk rate of 24% annually. That's much faster than listed rivals like Coherent (13%), EMCORE (10%), and JDS Uniphase (14%).

CAPS All-Star TMF1000 elaborates on the IPG bull case:

The value is high, but the prospects are very interesting. If one invests today, one has to believe in the eventual adoption of fiber lasers. They save energy costs and they save time. I think customers desire both. ... So why am I considering it now? One reason sales and earnings are going up, but the big first quarter, just slightly below their historically strong and record fourth quarter sales makes me think it is trending in the right direction and makes them exciting to me.

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