GTAT Stock Alert

Just wanted to share with my faithful readers some quick thoughts on GT Solar (GTAT).  This is a stock that has been on the MFI screens for about as long as I can remember.  They are one of two stocks that I own that I do not put in either my MFI portfolio (though I should have) or my dividend portfolio (the other one is GNW).

I bought them in the 2nd quarter... too early... at $7.10 a share.  They promptly had poor earnings and dropped a bunch.  I then added more shares in mid may at $4.32.

Today, the stock sky-rocketed 13% (to $6.13)!  Obviously, I was curious to see what caused the pop.  It was very interesting.  They gave a presentation at an investor conference today (GT Advanced Technologies to Participate in Investor Conference).  I think it is safe to say people like what they heard. I went and listened to the webcast (it was pretty brief).  I think people may want to listened for themselves, but here is the slide deck (GTAT at Canaccord Conference Aug 16 2012).  The key slides start at #15.  Here is a quick bullet point:

• They recognize that their historical roots (solar) will struggle short term.
• They believe though they have many advantages in solar over competitors, strong balance sheet and technological edge.
• They are very excited about their sapphire segment, which is growing quickly and has great potential.

Recall, they manufacture equipment  to help companies produce goods like solar panels... kind of like AMAT makes machines for Intel.  They said a big issue for manufacturers of smart phones, tablets etc is that the Gorilla Glass cracks easily (my wife knows this first hand).  They have developed a process using sapphire that is much more durable and attractive than gorilla glass.  They are in negotiations with smart phone carriers to make the switch (they say it is already cost-effective and costs are quickly ramping down as they build scale).  GTAT is of the opinion that if one company switches, many will switch as it is superior and will be a competitive edge (I know Apple is fixated on look and feel of their products).  Anyway, all-in-all, very exciting for them. 

I will consider adding to my GTAT position, though I will wait.  I have my next MFI tranche in 3 months, I can not imagine the stock price running away.

Great Day

Besides GTAT jumping up almost 14%, my dividend portfolio was up over 1.1% helped by CSCO's jump of almost 10%.  Also, my MFI portfolio is already rocking and rolling, just 363 days to go, but nice to be off to a good start.

Stock	Start	Current	Dividend	Pct Gain	R3K Gain
DLB	$34.43	$35.36	$0.00	2.7%	0.9%
KFY	$13.98	$14.52	$0.00	3.9%	0.9%
MSFT	$30.19	$30.78	$0.00	2.0%	0.9%
NSU	$3.62	$3.77	$0.00	4.3%	0.9%
UIS	$19.96	$20.86	$0.00	4.5%	0.9%
Totals				3.5%	0.9%