3SOF

Align Technology, Inc. engages in the development, manufacture, and marketing of Invisalign, a method for treating malocclusion, or the misalignment of teeth. Its product, Invisalign, has two primary components, ClinCheck and Aligners. ClinCheck is an Internet-based application that enables orthodontists to simulate treatment in 3-D by modeling stages of tooth movement. Aligners are thin, invisible, and removable dental appliances that correspond to each stage of the ClinCheck simulation, and are used to straighten teeth. It markets its product directly to dental professionals and to general practitioner dentists through its training and certification programs, and by direct mail campaigns. The company operates in the United States, Canada, Europe, Asia-Pacific, and Latin America. Align Technology was founded by Zia Chishti and Kelsey Wirth in 1997. The company is headquartered in Santa Clara, California.

Additional information:
http://www.secform4.com/insider/showhistory.php?cik=1097149

Also of note is the buying by former Cleveland Cavaliers owner Gordon Gund in Align Technology, which is trying to revolutionize orthodontics. Gund, his investment firm, and trusts for his family have been buying shares for more than a year now, with little to show for it in terms of returns. But Gund has a track record as a successful investor. For example, he sold his stake in the Cavs for $375 million, an 18-bagger over his initial $20 million investment, according to news reports. His continued faith makes me wonder if this company belongs in our Rule Breaker Universe (click here to access it directly, or take a risk-free trial).

http://www.fool.com/news/mft/2005/mft05082324.htm?source=eptyholnk303100&logvisit=y&npu=y&bounce=y&bounce2=y


Link to Form10:
http://biz.yahoo.com/e/050804/algn10-q.html

updated chart:
sitting right below the 50 EMA, short term target 7.5.$ IMO

I have started to accumulate...

Q2 revenues:
Align Technology, Inc. Reports Q2 2005 Revenues of $53.9M and EPS of $0.01

SANTA CLARA, Calif., July 20 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Align Technology, Inc. (Nasdaq: ALGN), the inventor of Invisalign(R), a proprietary method of straightening teeth without wires and brackets, today reported financial results for the second quarter of 2005. Total revenues for the second quarter of 2005 were $53.9 million, compared to $44.2 million in the second quarter of 2004, an increase of 22.0 percent.

'We are pleased with our financial results for the second quarter 2005, especially given the emergence of competition in the marketplace,' stated Thomas M. Prescott, Align Technology's President and CEO. 'Align is on track to execute key strategic programs, and our employees are as excited and committed as ever to building a great company for our customers and shareholders.'

The net profit for the second quarter of 2005, as reported on a GAAP basis, was $538 thousand, or earnings per share (EPS) of $0.01. This compares to a GAAP net profit of $3.8 million for the second quarter of 2004, or EPS of $0.06 per share. For comparison purposes, this also compares to a non-GAAP net profit of $5.6 million for the second quarter of 2004 or non-GAAP EPS of $0.09. Non-GAAP net profit excludes the effects of stock-based compensation. The reconciliation of the GAAP to non-GAAP measurements for net profit and EPS is set forth below within Align Technology's financial statements.

Inisder buying:
http://xml.10kwizard.com/filing_raw.php?repo=tenk&ipage=3646635

updated chart:

good news are out:
San Francisco County Superior Court Overrules OrthoClear's Challenges to Align Technology's Multi-Claim Lawsuit
Monday August 29, 5:00 pm ET 
Align Case to Move Forward on All Claims, Against All Defendants


SANTA CLARA, Calif., Aug. 29 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Align Technology, Inc. (Nasdaq: ALGN - News), the inventor of Invisalign®, a proprietary method of straightening teeth without wires and brackets, today announced that the San Francisco County Superior Court has issued an order overruling OrthoClear, Inc.'s demurrers to Align's Amended Complaint in the Company's multi-claim lawsuit against OrthoClear, Inc., OrthoClear Holdings, Inc., and individual defendants named in the Complaint. The Court allowed all of Align's tort and contract causes of action to proceed against OrthoClear and the individual defendants in the lawsuit.
In a hearing on August 18, 2005, OrthoClear presented its "demurrers" or challenges to Align's Amended Complaint, requesting dismissal of ten of Align's eleven causes of action against the OrthoClear defendants. After hearing oral arguments and reviewing the briefing submitted by all parties, the Court on August 23, 2005 issued an order overruling all of the defendants' demurrers. The OrthoClear defendants must now respond to Align's Amended Complaint by filing answers to the eleven causes of action brought by Align, which are:


     --   Unfair Competition
     --   Misappropriation of Trade Secrets
     --   Breach of Contract
     --   Breach of the Covenant of Good Faith and Fair Dealing
     --   Intentional Interference with Prospective Economic Advantage
     --   Negligent Interference with Prospective Economic Advantage
     --   Conversion
     --   Accounting
     --   Breach of Confidence
     --   Breach of Loyalty
     --   Fraud

"Align filed its successful request for a preliminary injunction and its Amended Complaint against OrthoClear with just cause and with significant detail and supporting facts, and we are very pleased with the Court's Orders," said Roger E. George, Vice President, Legal Affairs and General Counsel for Align. "We are fully prepared to move forward with our substantive claims against OrthoClear in this state court litigation and in other appropriate forums."

More information and a copy of the Court order are available by selecting "Litigation Information" at http://investor.aligntech.com/litigation.cfm .

updated chart:

up today, BO soon IMO 

I have told you....



BO

anybody from 3stocksonfire also invested in ALGN ?

updated chart & research link:


http://www.knobias.com/research.pdf?id=1112

very interesting are the Q3 estimations and the positive outlook

Enjoy the ride

Oliver

Columbia University Integrates Invisalign(R) Into Dental School Curriculum
Monday September 12, 4:30 pm ET


SANTA CLARA, Calif., Sept. 12 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Align Technology, Inc. (Nasdaq: ALGN - News), the inventor of Invisalign®, a proprietary method of straightening teeth without wires or brackets, today announced that Columbia University School of Dental and Oral Surgery is integrating Invisalign into its undergraduate and post-graduate curriculum.

"Columbia's program is one of the top-rated in the United States; they have set a standard for quality care and are driven to create technical excellence," said Dr. Lou Shuman, Vice President of Strategic Clinical Relations at Align. "We are very excited to be working with them to help prepare students to treat patients with the Invisalign technique."

New Invisalign-focused coursework will be required of all third year students. After completing an Invisalign certification course, students will be allowed to treat anterior tooth movement cases under the supervision of certified orthodontic residents and faculty members. In April and May of this year, third and fourth year students completed an Invisalign certification course at Columbia University. The next certification course is scheduled for spring 2006.

"We wish to have access to all viable treatment modalities available to our patients and to expose students to all available educational opportunities," said Dr. Thomas J. Cangialosi, Director of Orthodontics for the program. "Integrating the Invisalign technique into our program increases student and restorative faculty awareness of the importance of doing an orthodontic evaluation on each one of their patients who are here for comprehensive dental care."

The School of Dental and Oral Surgery (SDOS) at Columbia University Medical Center, founded in 1917, is located in northern Manhattan. In addition to providing education programs for pre- and post-doctoral candidates, SDOS conducts research in state-of-the-art facilities and oversees an extensive community-based service program for residents in the surrounding community -- a federally designated medical and dental manpower shortage area.

chart:

Quote from: la-onda on September 06, 2005, 02:30:57 AM
anybody from 3stocksonfire also invested in ALGN ?

I am not invested,But I am on the watch now.
Starting to market aggressively to dentists. Insider buying. 6.80 looks like a good support level.
Looks like it is in the process of a Symmetrical Triangle (continuation) Pattern.
Also listed in the article...Outrageous Margins.....I will post this article.

Support @ $6.71...6.39...6.25
Resistance @ $6.92...7.08...7.29

Recent CandleStick Analysis
Bullish
Dec-21-2005 Bullish Engulfing 

Technicals
Stochastic is Bullish
MACD is Neutral
Close Above the 13-day EMA

Last Price Quote is:
0.64%above 13-day EMA
-0.34%below 50-day EMA
RS Rating: 72 

Fundamentals
Key Data:
Market Cap (M): $420.10 
P/E Ratio: 217.34 
PEG Ratio: -17.5511 
Next Earnings: 01/25/2006
Last Analyst Rating: Mkt Perform

Nice pick  la-onda.........Applaud !

INVESTING
 
Outrageous Margins
By Tim Beyers (TMF Mile High)
December 22, 2005

Every now and again we like to roll back the curtains on how we Rule Breakers pick stocks. In October we revealed that outrageous sales growth often drives our decisions. That's still the case, of course. But triple-digit sales growth alone can't be enough to call a stock a Rule Breaker. It's what the company does with the extra moola that matters. If it's being used well, the result will be an ever-expanding gross margin.

And I'm not talking about margin that grows a few percentage points here and there. I'm talking about get-me-the-elastic-waistband-because-these-jeans-are-too-tight margins. They're expanding faster than a blowfish in a shark tank.

When sales growth meets fixed costs
The reason, you see, is that the best Rule Breaking businesses have a way of turning out meaningful innovations that have relatively meager fixed costs. That doesn't mean they're instantly profitable, of course. Some, such as Intuitive Surgical and Akamai Technologies (Nasdaq: AKAM), had capital investment requirements that stalled profits for years.

Yet each stock gave investors clues as to their quality long before the market began rewarding their excellence. Akamai, for example, realized huge gains in gross and operating margin a full 18 months before I bought shares. That's what happens when double-digit sales gains meet moderating operating costs. Accordingly, the shares are up nearly 60% since my recommendation for the May issue of Motley Fool Rule Breakers.

So when our team of analysts embarks on the search for new Rule Breakers, we like to include companies that boast a minimum 60% gross margin and that have grown gross profit by at least 40% annually over the past three years. There are several tools that will help you reveal candidates that meet this criterion. Here at Fool HQ we tend to use Capital IQ's stock screener.

Capital IQ found 50 firms that met our criteria this go-round. Some were frighteningly high, such as the Central Fund of Canada (AMEX: CEF) at a 100% gross margin. (To be fair, it's a holding company.) Others, such as Natural Health Trends' (Nasdaq: BHIP) 78.3% margin and 88% average growth, didn't seem sustainable. Three, however, really stood out:

1. Harris & Harris (Nasdaq: TINY)
Gross margin: 80.6%
Three-year gross profit compound annual growth rate (CAGR): 112.1%

Rule Breakers subscribers will be intimately familiar with Harris & Harris, which is essentially a venture capital (VC) firm that has the vast majority of its assets invested in nanotechnology start-ups. Fellow Fools John Yelovich and Carl Wherrett recommended the stock for the March issue.

Unfortunately, the shares are down roughly 5% over the past 52 weeks. But that doesn't mean the investing thesis -- that investing in VC is a low-risk and cost-effective way to capitalize on the nanotech revolution -- won't be realized. Far from it. I'd even argue that, in some ways, Harris & Harris is the ultimate Rule Breaker, because it's a stock that practically demands to be held for decades. And that is how VC tends to work, after all. Venture capitalists take on additional risk by providing early-stage funding and management expertise. This can go on for years, till the firm is a mature, profitable business capable of entering the public markets. It's at that point the VC gets to liquidate some of its holdings -- sometimes for multibagger returns. (Of course it wasn't at all like this during the dot-bomb years, when built-to-flip businesses were going from zero to IPO in six months, but stay with me.)

There's risk inherent in laying money on a company whose private investments will take years to pay off. But insiders own a big stake in the firm, and they're still buying. For example, Dr. C. Wayne Bardin, a company director, bought another 1,655 shares at $14.38 on Dec. 9. And he's not alone. Since January 2004, there's been a grand total of one insider sale. That at least suggests management is confident in the growth.

2. Align Technology (Nasdaq: ALGN)
Gross margin: 69.1%
Three-year gross-profit CAGR: 98.2%

I first stumbled across Align, which is trying to revolutionize orthodontics, when it was the subject of some serious insider buying at the hands of investor Gordon Gund, former owner of the Cleveland Cavaliers basketball team.

There's no way to know exactly why Gund likes Align, especially after seeing how badly it has mistreated his portfolio over the past year. What we do know is that, despite a net cash balance near $80 million, Align is embroiled in litigation with OrthoClear, whose CEO also founded Align. The dispute shows no signs of ending soon, which may be depressing the shares.

But that's also not all that's wrong with Align. According to Yahoo! Finance, earnings were negative for 2002 and 2003 but found their way into the black last year. Fourth-quarter earnings are expected to run negative, however. That would be the second quarter in a row and could put all of 2005 into the red. Not good, especially since the Street is expecting another net loss for 2006. Fat margins aside, it's probably Foolish to steer clear of Align till the company figures out a way to straighten out its earnings momentum.

3. Exact Sciences (Nasdaq: EXAS)
Gross margin: 95.4%
Three-year gross profit CAGR: 99.6%

And this, dear Fool, may be the most interesting stock of them all. Exact Sciences makes a DNA-based test called PreGen-Plus, which screens for colorectal cancer. Laboratory Corp. of America (NYSE: LH) has partnered with the firm to bring the tests to patients.

As interesting as that is, more intriguing to me is the firm's balance sheet. Exact Sciences' enterprise value -- that is, market capitalization plus debt and minus cash -- is a mere $13 million. Nearly all of Exact's value is cash in the bank, which means ongoing operations are trading for just 25% of the market cap.

A quick read of the risks section of the most recent 10-Q may reveal why. It seems Exact is almost entirely dependent on LabCorp as its distribution partner and that PreGen-Plus is still having to earn converts among physicians. Those, indeed, are big risks. But you also can't get much cheaper than Exact is right now.

Thin is most definitely not in
The truth is that the next ultimate growth stock is likely to have far more than one redeeming feature. Outrageous sales growth is likely to be on the list. So is a deep competitive advantage. Superior management, too. Such attributes in combination are what lead to multibagger returns.

So the next time you find a firm plumping margins faster than a Thanksgiving turkey in October, take heart. And have a seat at the table. For when it comes to stocks, thin is most definitely not in. Fat -- as in fat margins -- is where your portfolio should be at.

Bought ALGN at 8.80 on the pullback toward the Ascending Triangle breakout.

ALGN held this morning at 8.76, above the Ascending Triangle breakout, and has put in the fourth data point of a possible Symmetrical Triangle.

If ALGN can break out of this third bullish pattern, the Symmetrical Triangle target: 10.26 would be IN PLAY, identical to the Bullish Falling Wedge target: 10.26, already IN PLAY (see this morning's chart, above).

I'd like to see today's Bullish Hammer hold up in the final hour of trading, or at least a Bullish Doji Star, which would be a close near 8.99.

ALGN currently is  BID 9.05...ASK 9.06.

Quote from: Melf Elf on April 04, 2006, 03:00:06 PM
ALGN held this morning at 8.76, above the Ascending Triangle breakout, and has put in the fourth data point of a possible Symmetrical Triangle.

Friday's low of 8.81 was an exact hit to the up trendline, validating it as support.  This current pattern is "close enough," BTW, to be called an Ascending Triangle.  The highs are 9.43 and 9.45.

Quote
If ALGN can break out of this third bullish pattern, the Symmetrical Triangle target: 10.26 would be IN PLAY, identical to the Bullish Falling Wedge target: 10.26, already IN PLAY (see this morning's chart, above).

Be nice to see ALGN take out 9.43-9.45 next week, putting the DOUBLE target of 10.26 IN PLAY.

Like many other stocks lately, ALGN has been a cliffhanger.

The top of the Ascending Triangle (purple) was 8.69-8.70.  This morning, ALGN opened lower, printed 8.68, and now is at 8.98, above yesterday's high of 8.95. 

If it can close at 8.95, or better, it will put in a Bullish Engulfing Pattern off support (top of the Ascending Triangle).

I like the three bullish patterns in this chart.

Quote from: Melf Elf on April 12, 2006, 03:24:55 PM
If it can close at 8.95, or better, it will put in a Bullish Engulfing Pattern off support (top of the Ascending Triangle).

I like the three bullish patterns in this chart.

Got the Bullish Engulfing Pattern, off the top of the Ascending Triangle  (pattern in purple).  The close was 9.01, the high of the day.