Investopedia: Archipelago Learning In Detentino, But Still On Course To Graduate

Offering money-saving solutions for K-12 education is usually a pretty good business plan, but perhaps not so much in those times where state budgets and standards are in flux. While Archipelago Learning (Nasdaq:ARCL) offers attractive cloud-based supplemental education products, the company is seeing business slow a bit, due to those macro factors. While this company certainly carries above-average risk, it also offers above-average potential for risk-tolerant growth investors.

Still Growing, But...  
The recent issue with Archipelago isn't that it's no longer growing, but that its growth rate has declined recently. While the company was posting 30%+ year-on-year growth rates early in 2011, that growth has declined to the point where sell-side analysts expect only single-digit growth for the fourth quarter (to be reported in March).

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http://stocks.investopedia.com/stock-analysis/2012/Archipelago-Learning-In-Detention-But-Still-On-Course-To-Graduate-ARCL-PSO-RUK-LTRE-ABCD0229.aspx

Investopedia: HealthStream Already In The Rapids

Figure out a way to automate and simplify a mundane (and non-core) task and you have a good shot at creating a successful business. In the case of HealthStream (Nasdaq:HSTM), this small healthcare IT firm gives hospitals an option for training employees that is less costly and less cumbersome, but keeps them in compliance with an ever-changing set of rules and regulations. While HealthStream is hardly undervalued, growth investors may like what they find here.

A Good End to the Year 
HealthStream did really blow the doors off with its earnings relative to prior expectations, but it was still a strong quarter and Wall Street definitely liked what it heard. Revenue rose 24% for the quarter, with revenue from the Learning business up 31% and revenue from Research up 9% on a 15% increase in patient discharge surveys.


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http://stocks.investopedia.com/stock-analysis/2012/HealthStream-Already-In-The-Rapids-HSTM-RUK-ABCO-SABA0227.aspx