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     Entrepreneur Kurra Bewarse Username: Entrepreneur Post Number: 3444 Registered: 05-2011 Posted From: 65.35.45.47 Rating: N/A |
Kopin (KOPN #1) is a supplier of microdisplays and subassemblies for augmented reality (AR), virtual reality (VR)and mixed reality (MR) systems. Its microdisplays are currently mostly used for defense and industrial applications for US defense programs. Its displays are used for soldier, avionic, armored vehicle and training & simulation defense applications. AR technologies are being used by the military to provide personnel with enhanced situational awareness by overlaying digital imaging over the real-world scene. In the future, Kopin believes it can branch into other AR and VR applications like industrial, public safety and medical headsets; 3D optical inspection systems; and consumer wearable headsets. Kopin finished 2020 on a strong note, with full year revenue growing 36% to $40.1 mln. Q4 revenue growth was particularly strong at 60% yr/yr, Kopin's strongest quarterly growth since 4Q17. Results in Q4 were led by robust defense product revenue, which increased 112% yr/yr, driven by the FWS-I thermal weapon sight program and displays for the F-35 Fighter jet program. Kopin expects these programs will continue to generate strong revenue in the coming years. Also, Kopin is on track to transition three more products, out of a dozen programs currently in development, to initial low-rate production, with revenue expected to begin ramping in 2H21 with accelerated growth momentum for 2022 and beyond. Its development pipeline includes applications such as armored vehicle targeting systems, rotary-wing aircraft helmets, rifle day scopes and targeting systems, among others. Kopin believes it's the sole source supplier to most of these programs. It's not just military applications, Kopin also sells industrial wearables (RealWear), a market leader in enterprise AR and computing headsets. Kopin is also developing a headset for surgeries. The stock has been on a huge move in 2021, fueled by some contract wins and that robust Q4 report. The company is small, which is a bit of a concern, but it's dominant in its market niche with additional opportunities in the pipeline, which makes it a name to watch. MarineMax (HZO #11) is the nation's largest recreational boat and yacht retailer. It focuses on premium brands, such as Sea Ray, Boston Whaler, Hatteras etc. MarineMax sells new and used recreational boats and it provides yacht brokerage and charter services. MarineMax also owns Fraser Yachts Group, a superyacht brokerage and luxury yacht services company. MarineMax currently has 100+ retail locations. The stock has been ramping in recent months. Like several other boating stocks, HZO is benefitting from strong demand as consumers shift to spending more time outdoors due to the pandemic. Results have been eye-popping: same-store sales grew over 20% in Q1 (Dec), driven by even greater growth in comparable new units sold of over 35%. And the 20% comp was lapping a very difficult +24% comp last year. HZO is benefitting from a foundational shift of new customers embracing the boating lifestyle. This shift positions HZO to build on this growth for years to come, as many existing and new customers should upgrade to larger boats. HZO has also been growing via M&A. With one of the strongest balance sheets in the industry, HZO says it remains well capitalized to make strategic accretive acquisitions to add to its marina strategy and to further grow its higher margin businesses. To that point, HZO recently added super yacht powerhouse Northrop & Johnson. Together with Fraser Yachts, this unified combination provides unrivaled global scale, while further diversifying MarineMax into higher margin businesses. Ultra Clean Holdings (UCTT #13) is a supplier of critical subsystems, ultra-high purity cleaning and analytical services primarily for the semiconductor industry. Products include chemical delivery modules, frame assemblies, gas delivery systems, fluid delivery systems, precision robotics, process modules as well as other high-level assemblies. UCTT also has a Services business, which provides ultra-high purity parts cleaning, process tool part recoating, surface encapsulation and contamination analysis primarily for the semiconductor device makers and wafer fabrication equipment (WFE) markets. UCTT is benefitting from multi-year industry demand for applications such as 5G ad new CPU architectures which are enabling higher performance servers, and cloud, AI and Machine Learning. UCTT had a great year in 2020 with record revenue of $1.4 bln, record operating margin of 11.3% and record EPS. Q4 benefited from ongoing strength in foundry and logic, as well as increased demand in memory as customers planned for expansion and equipment investment in 2021 and beyond. UCTT says it remains solidly on track to outpace the accelerated growth of its served markets again in 2021. The pandemic is accelerating the adoption of semiconductor growth drivers such as AI, high-performance computing, IoT and 5G. Overall, demand is booming for UCTT right now as the pandemic has ramped up the need for companies to go digital. This mean more chip sales and more sales of UCTT's equipment. Energy Recovery (ERII #18) makes equipment used in industrial fluid flow markets, specifically water desalination (turning salt water into fresh water) and oil & gas. ERII's products are used in these markets to either recycle and convert wasted pressure energy into a usable asset or preserve pumps that are subject to hostile processing environments. In water desalination, ERII makes energy recovery devices (ERDs) which lower operating costs by capturing and reusing the otherwise lost pressure energy from the reject stream of the desalination process. Rather than dissipating the pressure energy from the discharge brine, ERDs can transfer the pressure energy from the discharge water directly to the unprocessed feed water, thereby reducing the amount of ongoing pressure energy required by the processes' pumps. This results in a much more efficient process as the size of the high-pressure pumps and the corresponding energy usage are reduced. As a result, ERDs have made SWRO (seawater reverse osmosis) desalination a viable economic option in the production of potable water. Water scarcity is growing and desalination is a drought proof option. ERII's PX generates no emissions and it decreases energy use by up to 60%, making seawater reverse osmosis far more cost effective and environmentally sustainable. ERII later expanded into the oil & gas market. Basically, it allows oil & gas operators to save money by isolating pumping equipment from highly abrasive fracturing fluids. These fluids contain proppants (sand or ceramics) so when this fluid is propelled under high pressure, it causes frequent failures in hydraulic fracturing pumps, which are expensive. We caution that ERII is small (2021 revs expected just over $100 mln) and is speculative. However, water scarcity will become more of an issue in the coming years and ERII is a play on this trend. |