Gurus Set Their Radars On Sensytech
Ratha Tep; data provided by Marketocracy , 05.06.03, 6:00 PM ET
NEW YORK - With Nasdaq on the move, this week Marketocracy polled its top performing fund managers,[http://www.marketocracy.com] the M100, about their overall view on stocks. The results are bullish, though not overwhelmingly so. According to its recent survey 56 out of 100 fund managers thought the market was heading higher. Their top buy is imagery systems maker Sensytech (nasdaq: STST - news - people ).
Get a jump on which stocks the top investment advisers are buying and selling by signing up for Forbes' FREE Investment Guru Weekly E-Mail.
The Newington, Va.-based company builds electronic-warfare devices such as the Bobcat threat-warning system. The Bobcat is used on ships, submarines and aircraft to locate and analyze electromagnetic signals from enemy radars and weapons. Sensytech also builds satellite and antenna systems for intercepting enemy communications; it also develops light, infrared and multi-spectral imaging systems for tracking environmental pollution levels and forest fires remotely. Its Compass imaging system is currently being used to track debris from the space shuttle Columbia.
In 2002, over 80% of Sensytech's revenue came from U.S. federal agencies including the Department of Defense and Environmental Protection Agency. Other customers include defense contractors Lockheed Martin (nyse: LMT - news - people ) and L-3 Communications (nyse: LLL - news - people ). Many technicians believe STST will break out of its $9 to $10 three-month trading range soon. Sensytech is scheduled to report second quarter results on May 14.
Get a jump on which stocks the top investment advisers are buying and selling by signing up for Forbes' FREE Investment Guru Weekly E-Mail.
The stock pickers also loaded up on shares of Port Washington, N.Y.-based National Medical Health Card Systems (nasdaq: NMHC - news - people ), which manages prescription-drug claims processing, invoices and payments for HMOs, local governments and unions. The group thinks NMHC is undervalued at around $8 per share. It has a price-earnings multiple of 12, while Express Scripts (nasdaq: ESRX - news - people ), a larger pharmacy benefit manager, is trading at $62 a share and has a P/E multiple of 22.
Other buys include Cincinnati-based Multi-Color Corporation (nasdaq: LABL - news - people ), which makes product labels for food and household items like Minute Maid juices, Palmolive dishwashing detergent and Miracle-Gro plant food; and Houston-based Harvest Natural Resources (nyse: HNR - news - people ), which operates oil reserves in Venezuela and Russia. Multi-Color just announced that its fiscal 2003 revenue ending March 31 was up 37% to $100 million and earnings grew 36% to $6.3 million. Harvest Natural Resources stock has jumped 13% to $5.40 since Standard & Poor's revised its credit rating outlook to "stable" from "negative" on Thursday, April 24.
The top sell for the week was Atlanta-based National Service Industries (nyse: NSI - news - people ), which provides linen to hotels and restaurants. The stock jumped 75% overnight to open at $9.10 on April 2 after NSI announced it would be acquired by San Diego-based California Investment Fund for $10 a share. NSI first appeared in Guru Picks May 2002 at a price of $8.
The group also dumped its shares of Montreal-based Gildan Activewear (nyse: GIL - news - people ), which sells blank t-shirts, polo-shirts and fleece for customers to add logos and designs. The gurus think the stock is running out of gas. It hit its 52-week high of $28.87 on Friday, and has a price-earnings multiple of around 19. Better-known competitor Russell (nyse: RML - news - people ) currently trades around $20 with a P/E of 13.
Top Buys
Sensytech (nasdaq: STST - news - people )
National Medical Health Card Systems (nasdaq: NMHC - news - people )
Multi-Color Corporation (nasdaq: LABL - news - people )
Harvest Natural Resources (nyse: HNR - news - people )
Ceradyne (nasdaq: CRDN - news - people )
Top Sells
National Service Industries (nyse: |
