By Hank Tucker, Antoine Gara and Eliza Haverstock
Take Collectors Universe, a $700 million market capitalization company that grades collectibles like baseball cards, rare coins, stamps and autographs. It is the authenticator of millions of memorabilia items, like Mike Trout’s rookie card, Ted Williams’ autograph and 19th-century Morgan silver dollars. In the collectibles market, the Santa Ana, California-based company acts as Moody’s, Sotheby’s and eBay all rolled up into one as customers rate, bid and sell using its services.
Forbes analyzed more than 850 companies with market capitalizations ranging from $300 million to $2 billion to produce our ranking of America’s 100 Best Small Cap Companies. Our selections are based on four factors: trailing 12 month stock returns, sales growth, earnings per share growth and return on equity. . As we went to press, Collectors Universe got snapped up, but there are dozens more ripe for investment. Many are names you have never heard before.
“No one wanted to go out to their vets. No one wanted to go to pet stores,” says Bruce Rosenbloom, PetMed Express’ chief financial officer. Another great company ranked fifth on our list is Plano, Texas’ Green Brick Partners. It would be hard to find a collection of real estate assets better suited for the Covid-19 pandemic. The company, which sits on thousands of residential lots in the fastest-growing geographies of the country, is controlled by famed hedge fund short seller David Einhorn. Those fleeing cities or blue-state taxes are likely to land on one of Green Brick’s lots.
Ah yes the art of social distortion running a muck.