If you’ve been watching the Olympics, you’ve probably been taking advantage of the technology produced by the company I’m featuring today. It’s Axsys Technologies (AXYS), a designer and manufacturer of surveillance and imaging systems for the defense industry. The precision optical systems turned out by Axsys usually go to work on tanks and military helicopters, and in border surveillance cameras and earth-orbiting satellites.
But the Bush administration recently approved the use of Axsys hi-definition cameras on helicopters, boats and ATVs to provide stunning coverage of events from the Beijing Olympics. With high-precision optics and incredibly accurate motion control, the images these cameras provide will knock your socks off.
Axsys camera systems can reportedly detect a man-sized object at a distance of more than 15 miles, so tracking a mountain biker should be a piece of cake.
The company had a bad year for sales in 2006, and the stock has been riding a wave of enthusiasm that followed a huge recovery in that area. Results for Q2 showed earnings up 69% on a 40% jump in revenue, with after-tax profit margins topping 10% for the first time. Institutional ownership is growing, but with just 47 whales on board, there’s lots of room for growth.
AXYS isn’t a perfect stock. It’s thinly traded, which increases volatility, and it’s already up from 16 to 77 in about 15 months, so you need to be very careful about how you buy (preferably on pullbacks and in small amounts) and keep your eyes open for any big-volume selling.
But the most bullish thing a stock can do is go up, and AXYS has shown it knows how to do that.
This stock has enjoyed a steady rise since back in Nov. 2007. But don’t you think it is coming up against resistance at $79.69? It will be interesting to see if it breaks through, and if so, how high will it go.