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.

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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

1 Unpopular Stock That Deserves a Second Chance and 2 We Ignore

COUR Cover Image

Wall Street’s bearish price targets for the stocks in this article signal serious concerns. Such forecasts are uncommon in an industry where maintaining cordial corporate relationships often trumps delivering the hard truth.

Accurately determining a company’s long-term prospects isn’t easy, especially when sentiment is weak. That’s where StockStory comes in - to help you find attractive investment candidates backed by unbiased research. Keeping that in mind, here is one stock poised to prove Wall Street wrong and two facing legitimate challenges.

Two Stocks to Sell:

Coursera (COUR)

Consensus Price Target: $12.23 (1.9% implied return)

Founded by two Stanford University computer science professors, Coursera (NYSE: COUR) is an online learning platform that offers courses, specializations, and degrees from top universities and organizations around the world.

Why Are We Cautious About COUR?

  1. Customer spending has dipped by 6.4% on average as it focused on growing its customers
  2. Estimated sales growth of 5.6% for the next 12 months implies demand will slow from its three-year trend
  3. Highly competitive market means it’s on the never-ending treadmill of sales and marketing spend

At $12 per share, Coursera trades at 37.4x forward EV/EBITDA. Check out our free in-depth research report to learn more about why COUR doesn’t pass our bar.

Rush Street Interactive (RSI)

Consensus Price Target: $20.25 (3.8% implied return)

Specializing in online casino gaming and sports betting, Rush Street Interactive (NYSE: RSI) is an operator of digital gaming platforms.

Why Does RSI Give Us Pause?

  1. Responsiveness to unforeseen market trends is restricted due to its substandard operating margin profitability

Rush Street Interactive’s stock price of $19.51 implies a valuation ratio of 51.7x forward P/E. Read our free research report to see why you should think twice about including RSI in your portfolio.

One Stock to Watch:

Mirion (MIR)

Consensus Price Target: $22.20 (9.5% implied return)

With its technology protecting workers in over 130 countries and equipment used in 80% of cancer centers worldwide, Mirion Technologies (NYSE: MIR) provides radiation detection, measurement, and monitoring solutions for medical, nuclear energy, defense, and scientific research applications.

Why Are We Fans of MIR?

  1. Offerings and unique value proposition resonate with customers, as seen in its above-market 8.2% annual sales growth over the last four years
  2. Additional sales over the last two years increased its profitability as the 28.2% annual growth in its earnings per share outpaced its revenue
  3. Free cash flow margin increased by 3.7 percentage points over the last five years, giving the company more capital to invest or return to shareholders

Mirion is trading at $20.28 per share, or 39.9x forward EV-to-EBITDA. Is now the right time to buy? Find out in our full research report, it’s free.

Stocks We Like Even More

Donald Trump’s April 2025 "Liberation Day" tariffs sent markets into a tailspin, but stocks have since rebounded strongly, proving that knee-jerk reactions often create the best buying opportunities.

The smart money is already positioning for the next leg up. Don’t miss out on the recovery - check out our Top 5 Strong Momentum 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-micro-cap company Kadant (+351% 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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