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 Mid-Cap Stocks on Our Watchlist and 1 We Brush Off

GDDY Cover Image

Mid-cap stocks have the best odds of scaling into $100 billion corporations thanks to their tested business models and large addressable markets. But the many opportunities in front of them attract significant competition, spanning from industry behemoths with seemingly infinite resources to small, nimble players with chips on their shoulders.

These dynamics can rattle even the most seasoned professionals, which is why we started StockStory - to help you separate the good companies from the bad. That said, here are two mid-cap stocks with long growth runways and one that may have trouble.

One Mid-Cap Stock to Sell:

GoDaddy (GDDY)

Market Cap: $18.8 billion

Founded by Bob Parsons after selling his first company to Intuit, GoDaddy (NYSE: GDDY) provides small and mid-sized businesses with the ability to buy a web domain and tools to create and manage a website.

Why Do We Think Twice About GDDY?

  1. Bookings growth averaged a weak 8.1% over the last year, suggesting it may need to tweak its product roadmap or go-to-market strategy
  2. Estimated sales growth of 6.9% for the next 12 months is soft and implies weaker demand
  3. High servicing costs result in a relatively inferior gross margin of 64% that must be offset through increased usage

At $135.76 per share, GoDaddy trades at 3.8x forward price-to-sales. Read our free research report to see why you should think twice about including GDDY in your portfolio.

Two Mid-Cap Stocks to Watch:

The Trade Desk (TTD)

Market Cap: $26 billion

Founded by former Microsoft engineers Jeff Green and Dave Pickles, The Trade Desk (NASDAQ: TTD) offers cloud-based software that uses data to help advertisers better plan, place, and target their online ads.

Why Are We Fans of TTD?

  1. Winning new contracts that can potentially increase in value as its billings growth has averaged 24.2% over the last year
  2. Fast payback periods on sales and marketing expenses allow the company to invest heavily and onboard many customers concurrently
  3. Excellent operating margin of 17.7% highlights the efficiency of its business model, and its profits increased over the last year as it scaled

The Trade Desk’s stock price of $53.19 implies a valuation ratio of 8.6x forward price-to-sales. Is now a good time to buy? See for yourself in our comprehensive research report, it’s free.

Natera (NTRA)

Market Cap: $21.55 billion

Founded in 2003 as Gene Security Network before rebranding in 2012, Natera (NASDAQ: NTRA) develops and commercializes genetic tests for prenatal screening, cancer detection, and organ transplant monitoring using its proprietary cell-free DNA technology.

Why Will NTRA Beat the Market?

  1. Average unit sales growth of 21% over the past two years reflects steady demand for its products
  2. Adjusted operating profits increased over the last two years as the company gained some leverage on its fixed costs and became more efficient
  3. Free cash flow turned positive over the last five years, showing the company is at an important crossroads

Natera is trading at $158.44 per share, or 9.7x forward price-to-sales. Is now the time to initiate a position? Find out in our full research report, it’s free.

Stocks We Like Even More

Trump’s April 2025 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 5 Growth Stocks for this month. 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-micro-cap company Tecnoglass (+1,754% 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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