Last suggestion for today.
Given is an Israeli company with a market cap of $722 Mln. They are a little pricey right now for good reasons. Number of shares outstanding are fairly flat since year end 2008. They've been profitable the last 2 quaters and 4 of the last 5. They currently have no debt and a current ratio > 4. So no worry about any dilution.
They make tiny cameras the size of pills that patients swallow. There are several different types of PillCams that have different missions to capture data on different parts of the gastrointestinal system. Check out their web site. It's amazing. The cameras pass through the body and transmit data to a data collector worn externally by the patient. The pill is expelled as you might expect. In addition to taking extremely high resolution pictures, some pills have sensors to measure fluid properties such as pH and other chemical properties which can be used to provide much more accurate diagnoses enabling faster, more successful treatments. Given has no competition with similar technology as far as I know. They have succeeded in working with physicians to product a flood of papers and evidence showing the superiority of using their products vs. other existing methods for diagnosis.
Their major markets are the USA, Europe and Japan. Any day we are expecting US FDA approval of PillCam Colon. This product will replace the colonoscopy for many patients where performing such a procedure is too risky or not preferred. The aging population is expected to significantly aid the uptake of this technology once approved . Upon US approval we're talking about millions of new customers. Recently, Japan approved PillCam3 (a different product) and then later announced full reimbursement for its use. That had a nice bump up on the stock. The stock has been on a big uptrend and FDA approval is a virtual certainty, but is NOT fully priced in IMHO based on watching the other announcements. Generally, the PillCam products cost less and provide better information with less risk than other existing technologies. Sounds like "taste great, less filling" might apply here.
Given's stock took a big price plunge a few months ago when a buyout fell apart. That's when I bought back in and have increased my position since then. They are the very front end of a large growth in revenues in Japan and also the US after approval.
In the recent CC the numbers were not exactly what folks hoped to hear so there was a dip and a buying opportunity. That is over.
This is all way out of my field of knowledge, but it seems like a slam dunk winner. I imagine once FDA approval is granted on this latest product, someone is going to buy them. If not, revenues going forward are going to take off. I suspect there is more sensor additions and product upgrades to follow which help increase margins. I'm holding on for the long term. My next colonoscopy wellness check is about 3 years off. I'll probably be using one of these.
