Investors can only be happy with the stock's performance over the last 8 months. It has nearly tripled from the 52 week low made in December 2012. Even on a 52 week basis, it has appreciated by 77%. Even over the longer term, the stock has done well. The fundamentals have remained abreast with the stock price. Last earnings saw the company beating analyst estimates by a huge margin, and revenue and net income increased by 18% and 45% respectively. The earnings guidance for the full year was upped to $5.3-$5.45 per share, and even the revenue estimate was enhanced to $700-$720 million. Consequently the stock got a boost, and momentum increased. Because of the improvement in fundamentals, the valuations remain reasonable even after such a huge rise. The trailing P/E is around 14.7, and the forward P/E is around 13.50. This indicates modest expectations of growth in earnings over the next few quarters. The PEG ratio is 0.82 which indicates expectations of good growth in earnings over the longer term. The price to sales is also not too high at 1.63. The operating margins and the net margins are around 17% and 11% respectively on a ttm basis. The good part is that the company has no debt on books, and it had around $96 million cash on June 29. The supplements and weight management market will continue to grow at a reasonable pace. New innovative products are launched from time to time based on customer needs. Chromadex Corporation (CDXC) had recently launched a vitamin derivative nicotinamide riboside for weight and diabetes management. USNA is known for the safety and quality of its products, and manufactures most of its products in-house. It has received numerous awards for that. USNA has to add new products from time to time to improve the margins and bolster the growth rate. After such a huge rise, it is important that the company meets and exceeds the guidance. However, the shorts data for July 31 is pretty unbelievable.
