Monday, March 05, 2007

Trains that Float through the Air: How to play that market sector

Yes, high speed trains that are levitated and extremely fast supercomputers are possible through something called high temperature superconductors, also known as HTSC. The big advantage of HTSCs is that electric current flows through them with no loss because they don't have any electrical resistance. Much promise has been shown in the area of ceramic superconductors. The disadvantages are that they are brittle, expensive, and hard to make.

However, a company called American Superconductor Corp. (AMSC), which trades on NASDAQ, has found a way to make bendable ceramic high temperature superconducting wires. Although the company's work is extremely promising, the stocks financials are not so favorable. Negative earnings, price/sales ratio of 10.5, selling at five times book value, and quarterly revenues are down 30% over the same period last year.

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