Monday, December 2, 2013

Seeking Alpha: Materion's Opportunities In Specialty Materials Well Worth Watching

Specialty materials companies can be, well, special. Oftentimes there is a lot of knowhow and technological capability that goes into the development and manufacture of specialty materials, and that can lead to market-beating stocks. "Can" is an important word here, though, as the performance of companies like Carpenter Technology (CRS), OM Group (OMG), and Rockwood (ROC) has certainly been erratic and volatile and the label of specialty material does not guarantee any particular level of sales growth, margins, or stock market performance.

This brings me to Materion (MTRN). Like OM Group and Rockwood, Materion's shares have enjoyed a good run this year, even though many of the company's core markets (including defense, industrial, and healthcare) aren't enjoying the best of times. While Materion is still a leader in its traditional beryllium market, the future of this company is much more about a broad and diversified approach to specialty materials and alloys for a wide range of markets. I don't believe that Materion is tremendously undervalued today, but I do believe it could be worth a small "starter position" or at least a spot on a watchlist.

Read more here:
Materion's Opportunities In Specialty Materials Well Worth Watching

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