INTRO Here's my semi-annual exercise to see if I remember why I own the stocks I own, and so I can check back and see if their stories have changed. I post in case it helps others too.
Neophotonics NPTN (market cap is $0.289B was $0.321B Mid2017) Neophotonics builds and sells the kinds of optoelectric devices that make is easier to convert optical signals (like those in optical fibers) into electrical signals (like those in computers and other connected electronic devices.) Fiber optics are marvelous. Electrical circuits are ubiquitous. Optoelectric devices help manage the transition of information between the two. The increasing demand for more bandwidth, faster upload and download rates, and greater connectivity suggest a growing market and industry.
Until recently, Neophotonics was experiencing increasing revenue growth. Superstitions persist, so maybe I jinxed the stock by buying it with the proceeds from another electro-optical company (GigOptix/GigPeak) after it was acquired. Since then, the stock has dropped by almost 50%. Sorry about that.
I will continue to hold, and tend to hold for several years; but this may be another example of buying into a sector more than buying into a company. I’ve made that mistake before, and may have made that mistake again.
