Wednesday, September 30, 2009
Dave Mock :: Townhall.com Columnist
A Big Upgrade for Longtop Financial
by Dave Mock
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Every day, the sun rises on Wall Street, and a plethora of professional analysts wake to issue new opinions on stocks. Here at the Fool, we use our "This Just In" column to examine some of these picks-- and the track recordsof the firm behind them -- so individuals can make better investing decisions.

In addition to following professional banks, anyone can use Motley Fool CAPSto monitor the collective opinions of more than 140,000 members, many of whom demonstrate better investing insight than published analysts do.

After it plunged to a lowly two-star rankearlier this year, more top-performing CAPS members have warmed to Longtop Financial Technologies (NYSE: LFT), lifting its rank to five stars. A total of 144 members have given their opinion on the Chinese software and services firm, with many offering analysis and commentary to explain their recent optimism.

Like other Chinese companies such as Baidu (Nasdaq: BIDU) and AgFeed Industries (Nasdaq: FEED), Longtop's shares have booked incredible gainsso far this year. China's business boom is attracting the attention of big players such as IBM (NYSE: IBM), and many investors see Longtop playing a key rolein China's growing need for information technology services. It was recently named the No. 1 and No. 2 market share leader in China's banking and insurance IT solution markets, respectively, by analyst firm IDC.

Longtop focuses on the largest customers in each of its segments, and its clients include some of China's largest banks and insurance companies -- the equivalent of a U.S. company landing Bank of America (NYSE: BAC), Wells Fargo (NYSE: WFC), and Prudential Financial (NYSE: PRU) as customers.

That strategy is paying off. Along with local competitor Yucheng Technologies , Longtop reported strong revenue growth in its most recent quarter, enjoying strong demand across its segments. The company faced headwinds in its ATM services business, which accounts for a smaller portion of revenue. Nonetheless, it raised its fiscal 2010 revenue and earnings forecasts, expecting growth to continue across its segments.

Do you think Longtop Financial deserves its five-star status? Add your thoughts in the comments box below on this page, or head over to our totally free CAPS service to rate the companyand check out all the information and opinions our community offers.

This article was originally published as A Big Upgrade for Longtop Financial Technologieson Fool.com

Copyright © 2009 The Motley Fool, LLC. All rights reserved.

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Dave Mock is a Motley Fool contributor.

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