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.

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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

3 Small-Cap Stocks in Hot Water

HCAT Cover Image

Small-cap stocks can be incredibly lucrative investments because their lack of analyst coverage leads to frequent mispricings. However, these businesses (and their stock prices) often stay small because their subscale operations make it harder to expand their competitive moats.

These trade-offs can cause headaches for even the most seasoned professionals, which is why we started StockStory - to help you separate the good companies from the bad. Keeping that in mind, here are three small-cap stocks to swipe left on and some alternatives you should look into instead.

Health Catalyst (HCAT)

Market Cap: $288.6 million

Founded by healthcare professionals Tom Burton and Steve Barlow in 2008, Health Catalyst (NASDAQ: HCAT) provides data and analytics technology to healthcare organizations, enabling them to improve care and lower costs.

Why Are We Cautious About HCAT?

  1. Sales trends were unexciting over the last three years as its 8.2% annual growth was well below the typical software company
  2. Gross margin of 46.2% reflects its high servicing costs
  3. Suboptimal cost structure is highlighted by its history of operating losses

Health Catalyst is trading at $4.13 per share, or 0.8x forward price-to-sales. If you’re considering HCAT for your portfolio, see our FREE research report to learn more.

Paycor (PYCR)

Market Cap: $4.06 billion

Founded in 1990 in Cincinnati, Ohio, Paycor (NASDAQ: PYCR) provides software for small businesses to manage their payroll and HR needs in one place.

Why Does PYCR Fall Short?

  1. Gross margin of 66% is below its competitors, leaving less money to invest in areas like marketing and R&D
  2. Historical operating losses point to an inefficient cost structure
  3. Free cash flow margin is projected to show no improvement next year

Paycor’s stock price of $22.37 implies a valuation ratio of 5.2x forward price-to-sales. Read our free research report to see why you should think twice about including PYCR in your portfolio.

Sealed Air (SEE)

Market Cap: $4.31 billion

Founded in 1960, Sealed Air Corporation (NYSE: SEE) specializes in the development and production of protective and food packaging solutions, serving a variety of industries.

Why Do We Pass on SEE?

  1. Declining unit sales over the past two years show it’s struggled to increase its sales volumes and had to rely on price increases
  2. Performance over the past two years shows each sale was less profitable as its earnings per share dropped by 12.3% annually, worse than its revenue
  3. Shrinking returns on capital suggest that increasing competition is eating into the company’s profitability

At $29.72 per share, Sealed Air trades at 9.5x forward price-to-earnings. To fully understand why you should be careful with SEE, check out our full research report (it’s free).

Stocks We Like More

The Trump trade may have passed, but rates are still dropping and inflation is still cooling. Opportunities are ripe for those ready to act - and we’re here to help you pick them.

Get started by checking out our Top 5 Growth Stocks for this month. This is a curated list of our High Quality stocks that have generated a market-beating return of 175% over the last five years.

Stocks that made our list in 2019 include now familiar names such as Nvidia (+2,183% between December 2019 and December 2024) as well as under-the-radar businesses like Sterling Infrastructure (+1,096% five-year return). Find your next big winner with StockStory today for free.

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