I listened to the CC as well. What is most impressive to me is the diversity of this company - across product lines, with multiple business partners, in many countries. The barriers to entry into this field are now huge - it is difficult to imagine any more major players emerging. And among the major players, it is obvious to me (I'm not impartial, though), that LHSPF has a huge lead over Dragon and IBM in all the diversification issues mentioned above. The deal with MSFT is by far the most important, however, as was alluded to several times in the course of the CC.
It sounded to me like this will really explode in the second half of 98 with MSFT products (and then all the other software suppliers), and with the auto industry applications. The medical products will continue to accelerate through the fourth quarter of this year, and the other divisions are growing as well. It is hard to see any major pitfalls, and the analysts on the CC certainly didn't express any major concerns - about competition, executing the business plan, lack of acceptance - nothing.
I think the paucity of posts on this thread is very bullish - there are LOTS of people yet to discover this stock. The CC had several analysts whose companies have not initiated coverage on LHSPF yet, so there are lots of drivers for increases in the price. There is considerable possibility, IMO, that this will get driven to P/E's of 90 or better because the story will be so strong - crucial technology, market leader, repeated upside surprises - so it looks to me like a stock that will be good to have a core long-term holding, and then some to buy and sell when it gets ahead of itself thanks to the momentum folks.
Sorry to be so darn pollyannish; I just can't find a discouraging word to say!
Bob |
