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

2 of Wall Street’s Favorite Stocks with Promising Prospects and 1 We Find Risky

BILL Cover Image

Wall Street has set ambitious price targets for the stocks in this article. While this suggests attractive upside potential, it’s important to remain skeptical because analysts face institutional pressures that can sometimes lead to overly optimistic forecasts.

At StockStory, we look beyond the headlines with our independent analysis to determine whether these bullish calls are justified. Keeping that in mind, here are two stocks where Wall Street’s positive outlook is supported by strong fundamentals and one where consensus estimates seem disconnected from reality.

One Stock to Sell:

Orion (ORN)

Consensus Price Target: $11.13 (28.9% implied return)

Established in 1994, Orion (NYSE: ORN) provides construction services for marine infrastructure and industrial projects.

Why Do We Think ORN Will Underperform?

  1. Annual revenue growth of 2.4% over the last five years was below our standards for the industrials sector
  2. Gross margin of 9.3% reflects its high production costs
  3. Ability to fund investments or reward shareholders with increased buybacks or dividends is restricted by its weak free cash flow margin of -0.2% for the last five years

Orion is trading at $8.63 per share, or 53x forward P/E. To fully understand why you should be careful with ORN, check out our full research report (it’s free).

Two Stocks to Watch:

Bill.com (BILL)

Consensus Price Target: $60.22 (25.5% implied return)

Started by René Lacerte in 2006 after selling his previous payroll and accounting software company PayCycle to Intuit, Bill.com (NYSE: BILL) is a software as a service platform that aims to make payments and billing processes easier for small and medium-sized businesses.

Why Are We Positive On BILL?

  1. Billings have averaged 15.3% growth over the last year, showing it’s securing new contracts that could potentially increase in value over time
  2. Software is difficult to replicate at scale and results in a premier gross margin of 84.5%
  3. User-friendly software enables clients to ramp up spending quickly, leading to the speedy recovery of customer acquisition costs

Bill.com’s stock price of $48 implies a valuation ratio of 3.1x forward price-to-sales. Is now the time to initiate a position? See for yourself in our in-depth research report, it’s free.

Dynatrace (DT)

Consensus Price Target: $63.85 (21.9% implied return)

Founded in Austria in 2005, Dynatrace (NYSE: DT) provides companies with software that allows them to monitor the performance of their full technology stack, from software applications to the infrastructure they run on.

Why Do We Like DT?

  1. Ability to secure long-term commitments with customers is evident in its 17.6% ARR growth over the last year
  2. Software is difficult to replicate at scale and results in a premier gross margin of 81.9%
  3. Strong free cash flow margin of 25.4% enables it to reinvest or return capital consistently

At $52.39 per share, Dynatrace trades at 8.2x forward price-to-sales. Is now the right time to buy? Find out in our full research report, it’s free.

Stocks We Like Even More

Trump’s April 2024 tariff bombshell triggered a massive market selloff, but stocks have since staged an impressive recovery, leaving those who panic sold on the sidelines.

Take advantage of the rebound by checking out our Top 6 Stocks for this week. This is a curated list of our High Quality stocks that have generated a market-beating return of 183% over the last five years (as of March 31st 2025).

Stocks that made our list in 2020 include now familiar names such as Nvidia (+1,545% between March 2020 and March 2025) as well as under-the-radar businesses like the once-small-cap company Comfort Systems (+782% five-year return). Find your next big winner with StockStory today for free. Find your next big winner with StockStory today. Find your next big winner with StockStory today

StockStory is growing and hiring equity analyst and marketing roles. Are you a 0 to 1 builder passionate about the markets and AI? See the open roles here.

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