Last one for the day! Atrion Corporation (ATRI). I have never even HEARD of this corporation before finding it on the list of greatest percentage gainers. Yet it does seem to fit the bill.
Needless to say, I do not own any shares of ATRI.
Atrion, according to CNN.Money "...is a holding company that designs, develops, manufactures, markets, sells and distributes medical products and components." ATRI had a nice day today, closing at $34.70 up $2.68 or 8.37% on the day.
On July 30, 2003, Atrion reported their second quarter results: revenues were up 9% and earnings per share from continuing operations were up 29% compared to the second quarter of 2002.
Morningstar.com shows a steady growth in revenue from $43.4 million in 1998, $49.9 million in 1999, $51.4 million in 2000, $57.6 million in 2001 and $59.5 million in 2002.
Free Cash flow has gradually improved from $4 million in 2000, to $6 million in 2001 and $7 million in 2002.
The Balance Sheet on Morningstar shows only a little cash at $700,000 with $21.8 million in other current assets balanced against $6.4 million of current liabilities and $11.2 million in long-term liabilities.
Atrion is a very small company with only a $53.4 million market cap with 1.67 million shares outstanding and 1.20 million that float! The p/e is a very reasonable 13.31. There are no shares reported out short as of 7/8/03.
This is an interesting situation. Numbers are good and the company is tiny. Sometimes with the small float, a little buying pressure can create tremendous upward price movement....then again, if something goes wrong, the average trading volume is 1,000 shares....and it may be harder to unload shares due to the limited liquidity of the stock.
Good luck! And thanks for stopping by! Drop me a line at bobsadviceforstocks@lycos.com if you have any questions or comments.
Bob