About Us

Laser Focus World is an industry bedrock—first published in 1965 and still going strong. We publish original articles about cutting-edge advances in lasers, optics, photonics, sensors, and quantum technologies, as well as test and measurement, and the shift currently underway to usher in the photonic integrated circuits, optical interconnects, and copackaged electronics and photonics to deliver the speed and efficiency essential for data centers of the future.

Our 80,000 qualified print subscribers—and 130,000 12-month engaged online audience—trust us to dive in and provide original journalism you won’t find elsewhere covering key emerging areas such as laser-driven inertial confinement fusion, lasers in space, integrated photonics, chipscale lasers, LiDAR, metasurfaces, high-energy laser weaponry, photonic crystals, and quantum computing/sensors/communications. We cover the innovations driving these markets.

Laser Focus World is part of Endeavor Business Media, a division of EndeavorB2B.

Laser Focus World Membership

Never miss any articles, videos, podcasts, or webinars by signing up for membership access to Laser Focus World online. You can manage your preferences all in one place—and provide our editorial team with your valued feedback.

Magazine Subscription

Can you subscribe to receive our print issue for free? Yes, you sure can!

Newsletter Subscription

A Laser Focus World newsletter subscription is free to qualified professionals:

The Daily Beam

Showcases the newest content from Laser Focus World, including photonics- and optics-based applications, components, research, and trends. (Daily)

Product Watch

The latest in products within the photonics industry. (9x per year)

Bio & Life Sciences Product Watch

The latest in products within the biophotonics industry. (4x per year)

Laser Processing Product Watch

The latest in products within the laser processing industry. (3x per year)

Get Published!

If you’d like to write an article for us, reach out with a short pitch to Sally Cole Johnson: [email protected]. We love to hear from you.

Photonics Hot List

Laser Focus World produces a video newscast that gives a peek into what’s happening in the world of photonics.

Following the Photons: A Photonics Podcast

Following the Photons: A Photonics Podcast dives deep into the fascinating world of photonics. Our weekly episodes feature interviews and discussions with industry and research experts, providing valuable perspectives on the issues, technologies, and trends shaping the photonics community.

Social Media

Bluesky • Facebook • Instagram • LinkedIn • YouTube

Meet the Laser Focus World Team

Editorial

Sales

Editorial Advisory Board

  • Professor Andrea M. Armani, University of Southern California
  • Ruti Ben-Shlomi, Ph.D., LightSolver
  • James Butler, Ph.D., Hamamatsu
  • Natalie Fardian-Melamed, Ph.D., Columbia University
  • Justin Sigley, Ph.D., AmeriCOM
  • Professor Birgit Stiller, Max Planck Institute for the Science of Light, and Leibniz University of Hannover
  • Professor Stephen Sweeney, University of Glasgow
  • Mohan Wang, Ph.D., University of Oxford
  • Professor Xuchen Wang, Harbin Engineering University
  • Professor Stefan Witte, Delft University of Technology
My Watchlist
Indicators
Industrial Laser Index
Markets
Stocks
ETFs
Tools
Markets:
Overview
News
Currencies
International
Treasuries

3 Beaten-Down Small Caps Building Momentum for a 2025 Rally

By: MarketBeat

Financial depressing and growth graph stock trading on a background. - stock image

Beaten-down stocks can, at first glance, look like an opportunity to buy in at a cheap price. However, stocks usually have a reason to be down significantly. Buying into these stocks can sometimes mean that a value trap has lured an investor. A value trap is where the decline in a stock’s price makes it feel undervalued, but in actuality, the business fundamentals support the decline in value. This can make investors think they are getting a good deal, but the shares never recover or continue declining. In this case, identifying stocks that markets have beaten down but that have started to move in the right direction can be helpful.

Recent positive momentum shows that sentiment around the company is changing, possibly allowing shares to rise higher. Although investors might miss out on the initial rise, this strategy can also help prevent falling into a value trap. At the same time, staying aware of short-term over-exuberance is important. Below, I’ll detail three small-cap stocks that are down big overall in 2024 but are showing positive momentum in their share price going into 2025. All return figures are as of the Dec. 10 close.

Roadzen: Insurtech Stock That Just Inked a Huge Deal

Roadzen (NASDAQ: RDZN) has really gotten crushed through 2024, down 49%. However, things are turning around as of late, up 100% in one week. The company has been disappointing investors on its earnings releases this year, but recent news has sent shares skyrocketing. Roadzen’s home is in the automobile insurtech industry. It is not an insurance company. It provides technology to auto insurers, car makers, and vehicle fleet operators to increase safety and the amount of data they have.

News recently broke that one of the world’s largest gasoline transport companies has signed a five-year contract to use Roadzen’s DrivebuddyAI technology. It will use the technology on over 500 trucks for its operations in India. DrivebuddyAI is a driver assistance platform that promotes safety on the road. Features include monitoring of driver fatigue and drowsiness alerts. This makes sense, considering truck drivers spend tens of hours a day driving, which can weaken decision-making over time, opening companies up to liability. This adoption by a major player could spark interest from other companies. It could propel Roadzen to gain more traction in the trucking industry.

Fastly: Edge Cloud Company Recovering Solidly Over the Past Month

Fastly (NYSE: FSLY) is a small-cap tech company whose shares are down 42% year-to-date in 2024. However, the stock has shown signs of recovery, rising 35% in the past month. Fastly specializes in the edge cloud, a technology that brings computing closer to end users through a Points of Presence (PoPs) network. Unlike traditional centralized data centers, Fastly’s PoPs reduce latency by processing data and delivering content near the user.

This speed improvement can enhance user experiences. It can make websites load faster, potentially reducing e-commerce cart abandonment caused by slow loading times when traffic is exceptionally high. Fastly also stresses the programmable nature of its platform. Users can dynamically change how they deliver their content. In a period of high traffic, an e-commerce company may want to change its pricing to maximize profit. Fastly allows these changes to happen almost instantly.

Navitas: Silicon Alternative Chip Company Looks to Capitalize on Large Potential Market

Navitas Semiconductor’s (NASDAQ: NVTS) overall drop sits between the other two firms at 46% in 2024. However, it has exploded upward in the past month, up 101%. Navitas specializes in gallium nitride and silicon carbide-based semiconductors. Using these compounds to make semiconductors instead of silicon can provide significant advantages. They can allow systems to be more energy efficient and charge faster. This makes them a good fit for electric vehicles.

Navitas's sales growth was slightly negative last quarter. But, investors are likely encouraged by its $1.6 billion pipeline. The massive total addressable market of Navitas’s alternate types of chips is clearly very exciting to investors. However, it still needs to prove adoption and cost competitiveness. With only $22 million in revenue last quarter and an adjusted loss from operations of $13 million, the company is highly unprofitable. The company is reducing its workforce to prioritize prudent cost management. It is notable that Navitas has a very significant amount of short interest at nearly 15%.

More News

View More
Why Amazon’s Prime Day May Be the Catalyst for a Year-End Rally
Via MarketBeat
Tickers AMZN
Let the Good Times Roll: 2 Stocks Showing No Signs of Slowing
Via MarketBeat
Topics Artificial Intelligence World Trade
Tickers ATRO INOD META
Café Culture Revival? 3 Stocks to Watch After Chick-fil-A’s Move
Via MarketBeat
Tickers CMG MCD SBUX YUM
Carmakers Step in With Incentives as EV Tax Credit Expires
Via MarketBeat
Topics Economy Government
Tickers F GM TSLA
Buy the Dip? Zillow’s Profit Comeback Meets Market Pressure
Via MarketBeat
Topics Lawsuit
Tickers ZG
Stock Quote API & Stock News API supplied by www.cloudquote.io
Quotes delayed at least 20 minutes.
By accessing this page, you agree to the following
Privacy Policy and Terms Of Service.