"You knock me out, right off my feet." -- Boom Boom, The Animals ('60s hit record)

If ever a company lived up to its stock symbol, it is Dynamic Materials (NASDAQ:BOOM). The stock was up over 100% this morning.

Dynamic Materials, which uses explosives to perform metallurgical bonding or metal cladding, issued its third-quarter earnings report, boosting the stock. Sales were up 24%, but income from continuing operations increased more than threefold. Net income popped from a $0.13 loss to a $0.16 per-share profit.

Powering the increases was the explosive metalworking group (hey, that's the real name), which represents 94% of sales. Demand is largely driven by plant maintenance and retrofit projects at chemical processing, petrochemical processing, and oil refining facilities.

The order backlog for this group increased from $11.7 million at the end of 2003 to $25.6 million at the end of the third quarter. Do the math. With current quarter sales of $11.3 million, that backlog foreshadows strong results for the next two quarters.

The company's AMK welding operation reported an 11% increase in sales but a 16% decrease in operating income. Downsized, AMK expects "measurable improvement" in its 2005 results when a customer's "new ground-breaking turbine" goes into production.

With 5.1 million shares outstanding -- Cisco Systems (NASDAQ:CSCO) has 6.7 billion -- the company is a Lilliputian that has many Hidden Gems qualities. No analysts follow it. Sales are increasing. More importantly, the company appears to have reached critical mass and is converting sales into profits.

Sheltering income is $2.5 million in net operating loss carryforwards. Any cash kept in house will be helpful, as the company has about $2.6 million in long-term debt principal payments due in 2004. But consider Motley Fool Stock Advisor recommendation Marvel Enterprises (NYSE:MVL). Investors turned a cold shoulder to the stock when the company started paying its full tax burden and earnings flattened.

This morning's surge in the stock price, which valued the company at 18 times the company's net income (from continuing operations) for the first nine months, is moderating as the day wears on. That makes sense, because as Dynamic Materials eats into its tax-loss carryforwards, favorable earnings comparison are going to be hard to come by -- and the stock's multiple will look downright rich for a cyclical company -- explosions or not.

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Fool contributor W.D. Crotty owns stock in Marvel Enterprises.