Maxim Integrated Products, Inc. (NASDAQ:MXIM)

MikeMark (31.43) Submitted: 9/28/2006 5:35:36 AM : Start Price: $26.04 MXIM Score: -7.66

Great company in a currently down industry. It makes devices that bridge the physical world to the digital world. These devices are the senses of your computer, enabling it to see, hear, feel and who knows, maybe even smell and taste soon. Yes, in case you didn't know, your computer does need to do some of those things in various forms.

Maxim has $1B in cash, no LT debt, market cap $8.9B as of 9/27/06. Still growing sales, although slowly. At 16, the P/E is lower than competition. Well known by electrical engineers who use it's products. Still plowing 20% - 25% of net into R&D. Maxim always seems to have another good useful chip (circuit) when you need it. At $27.80 the stock appears to be about a 6% discount to value assuming about 5.5% annual growth in Free Cash Flow. For the past year, the company has been buying back stock averaging about $40 a share.

I'm guessing that the company is happy that the market reacted the way it did on news of lower expected earnings in 1st fiscal Q 2007. "Hey guys, drop the price a little more! Just don't tell anyone we're buying... yet."