Boy did this thread fall apart. It used to be one of the good ones, too. Now everybody is a moron or something or other. Civility, please.
Here's my take on APCC. The fundamentals of this industry could not be better. Out electrical infrastructure resembles something out of Bangladesh, not the premier world superpower. Even in the Silicon Valley, PG&E is feeding all kinds of spikes, brownouts, and junk down the wires. Hardly a week goes by without my APC units making a chorus of loud BEEPs signaling an anomaly in the power.
From what I hear, other parts of the country are worse. Fact is, our electrical utilities are being deregulated - which is terrific for the long term, when competition will weed out the incompetent, but terrible in the short-term transition period. Utilities are used to monopoly disregard for the needs of the market, and are now running around like headless chickens trying to cut costs before real competition sets in.
Power conditioning is no longer a high-end luxury; it's a mass-market necessity. APC is not only the leader in this game, it is the only serious player in this game. HP fell on its face, and the other competitors are not in any position to hurt APC's margins. Wow - what a combination of huge market potential and unquestioned leadership position in that market. If you have those two, everything else is secondary.
This is also a volatile stock because of the kinds of traders attracted to tech stocks. Some of them are on this thread. Since my investment style is buy and hold, that's what I believe will produce the greatest return with the least stomach acid. I'm long at 10 and 15, and still like the stock at 20. I can see the 30s or even the low 40s by next year. |
