Top Five Mid-Cap Stocks: Ametek

Our buy rating for Sigma-Aldrich has been in place since November 2003. For the first quarter of fiscal 2008 net income grew to $84.5 million from $74.9 million in the first quarter of 2007. Sales for the quarter set a record for the company, reaching a new quarterly high of $569.6 million, an increase of 15% year over year. Despite higher tax rates, the company saw 14% year-over-year EPS growth to 64 cents. Management attributes the EPS growth to Sigma-Aldrich's efforts to expand margins through process improvement activities. Finally, cash flow from operations increased 2.3% to $89.6 million.

Looking forward, management expects full-year sales for 2008 to meet the company's organic growth goal of 7%. Furthermore, management has raised its 2008 EPS estimate by 5 cents to a range of $2.57 to $2.67. However, bear in mind that changes in pricing due to the competitive environment, fluctuations in foreign currency exchange rates and regulatory changes could affect future results.

Our quantitative rating is based on a variety of historical fundamental and pricing data and represents our opinion of a stock's risk-adjusted performance relative to other stocks.

However, the rating does not incorporate all of the factors that can alter a stock's performance. For example, it doesn't always factor in recent corporate or industry events that could affect the stock price, nor does it include recent technology developments and competitive dynamics that may affect the company.

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