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 Mid-Cap Stock with Exciting Potential and 2 Facing Challenges

BALL Cover Image

Mid-cap stocks often strike the right balance between having proven business models and market opportunities that can support $100 billion corporations. However, they face intense competition from scaled industry giants and can be disrupted by new innovative players vying for a slice of the pie.

Luckily for you, our mission at StockStory is to help you make money and avoid losses by sorting the winners from the losers. Keeping that in mind, here is one mid-cap stock with huge upside potential and two best left ignored.

Two Mid-Cap Stocks to Sell:

Ball (BALL)

Market Cap: $13.86 billion

Started with a $200 loan in 1880, Ball (NYSE: BLL) manufactures aluminum packaging for beverages, personal care, and household products as well as aerospace systems and other technologies.

Why Do We Avoid BALL?

  1. Organic sales performance over the past two years indicates the company may need to make strategic adjustments or rely on M&A to catalyze faster growth
  2. Competitive supply chain dynamics and steep production costs are reflected in its low gross margin of 21.6%
  3. Low free cash flow margin of -0.6% for the last five years gives it little breathing room, constraining its ability to self-fund growth or return capital to shareholders

At $50.93 per share, Ball trades at 13.5x forward P/E. Read our free research report to see why you should think twice about including BALL in your portfolio.

Royalty Pharma (RPRX)

Market Cap: $15.59 billion

Pioneering a unique business model in the pharmaceutical industry since 1996, Royalty Pharma (NASDAQ: RPRX) acquires rights to receive portions of sales from successful biopharmaceutical products, providing funding to drug developers without conducting research itself.

Why Are We Hesitant About RPRX?

  1. Customers postponed purchases of its products and services this cycle as its revenue declined by 1.2% annually over the last two years
  2. Smaller revenue base of $2.31 billion means it hasn’t achieved the economies of scale that some industry juggernauts enjoy

Royalty Pharma is trading at $36.01 per share, or 7.2x forward P/E. Check out our free in-depth research report to learn more about why RPRX doesn’t pass our bar.

One Mid-Cap Stock to Buy:

LPL Financial (LPLA)

Market Cap: $26.64 billion

As the nation's largest independent broker-dealer with no proprietary products of its own, LPL Financial (NASDAQ: LPLA) provides technology, compliance, and business support services to independent financial advisors and institutions who manage investments for retail clients.

Why Should You Buy LPLA?

  1. Annual revenue growth of 22.6% over the past two years was outstanding, reflecting market share gains this cycle
  2. Performance over the past five years shows its incremental sales were more profitable, as its annual earnings per share growth of 21.3% outpaced its revenue gains
  3. Stellar return on equity showcases management’s ability to surface highly profitable business ventures

LPL Financial’s stock price of $333 implies a valuation ratio of 16.4x forward P/E. Is now a good time to buy? See for yourself in our full research report, it’s free.

High-Quality Stocks for All Market Conditions

When Trump unveiled his aggressive tariff plan in April 2025, markets tanked as investors feared a full-blown trade war. But those who panicked and sold missed the subsequent rebound that’s already erased most losses.

Don’t let fear keep you from great opportunities and take a look at 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-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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