|
|
|
ONLINE FEATURES
Book Reviews
BW Video
Columnists
Interactive Gallery
Newsletters
Past Covers
Philanthropy
Podcasts
Special Reports
BLOGS
Auto Beat
Bangalore Tigers
Blogspotting
Brand New Day
Byte of the Apple
Economics Unbound
Eye on Asia
Fine On Media
Green Biz
Hot Property
Investing Insights
Management IQ
NEXT: Innovation
NussbaumOnDesign
Tech Beat
Working Parents
TECHNOLOGY
J.D. Power Ratings
Product Reviews
Tech Stats
Wildstrom: Tech Maven
AUTOS
Home Page
Auto Reviews
Classic Cars
Car Care & Safety
Hybrids
INNOVATION
& DESIGN Home Page Architecture Brand Equity Auto Design Game Room SMALLBIZ Smart Answers Success Stories Today's Tip INVESTING Investing: Europe Annual Reports BW 50 S&P Picks & Pans Stock Screeners Free S&P Stock Report SCOREBOARDS Hot Growth 100 Mutual Funds Info Tech 100 S&P 500 B-SCHOOLS Undergrad Programs MBA Blogs MBA Profiles MBA Rankings Who's Hiring Grads |  |
JUNE 13, 2005
ASEI: A Defense Stock Lying In A Trench  Shares of American Science & Engineering (ASEI
) took a beating even after posting record quarterly sales and earnings: They fell from 45 a share in early May to 39 on June 1. ASEI makes X-ray and imaging systems that detect explosives, illegal drugs, and smuggled goods. Its chief product is the "Z Backscatter Van," now in use in Iraq, which scans vehicles for explosives. It is also being tested at some U.S. airports. The U.S. and foreign governments are the big buyers of ASEI products, notes Stephen Levenson of securities outfit Ryan Beck, who rates the stock outperform. A factor in the stock's fall was the drop in quarterly backlog orders by $12 million, to $72 million. But "we're more interested in ASEI's direction, which remains upward," he says. Levenson has a 12-month target of 54, based on his earnings forecast of $2.05 a share for the fiscal year ending Mar. 31, 2006, on sales of $127 million. In 2004, it earned 44 cents a share on $76 million in sales. Steven Gish of Roth Capital Partners, who tags the stock a strong buy, sees ASEI increasing its earnings power long-term.
Note: Unless otherwise noted, neither the sources cited in Inside Wall Street nor their firms hold positions in the stocks under discussion. Similarly, they have no investment banking or other financial relationships with them.  By Gene G. Marcial
BW MALL
SPONSORED LINKS
Get BusinessWeek directly on your desktop with our RSS feeds.
Buy a link now! Add BusinessWeek news to your Web site with our headline feed. Click to buy an e-print or reprint of a BusinessWeek or BusinessWeek Online story or video. To subscribe online to BusinessWeek magazine, please click here. Learn more, go to the BusinessWeekOnline home page  | | |
 Copyright 2005, by The McGraw-Hill Companies Inc. All rights reserved.Terms of Use | Privacy Notice |
Printer-Friendly Version