Why InvenSense Inc. Stock Dropped 22% in August

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What: Shares of InvenSense fell 22.1% in August, according to data from S&P Capital IQ. The month started off with a strong first-quarter report paired with weak forward guidance. From there on, InvenSense shares performed a slightly amplified version of the general market's China-based jitters.

So what: In the first quarter of fiscal year 2016, InvenSense saw sales jumping 59% higher year over year to land at $106.3 million. Adjusted earnings rose 17% to $0.14 per diluted share. Your average Wall Street analyst had expected the maker of motion sensors and sound processors to stop at earnings of $0.12 per share on $102.4 million in top-line sales.

Looking ahead, however, management set second-quarter guidance targets well below the prevalent analyst views. In the earnings call, InvenSense CFO Mark Dentinger tied those soft next-quarter goals with uncertainty about the smartphone market in China. You've seen the markets doing the Chinese limbo ever since, and InvenSense's shares have essentially just exaggerated those moves.

Now what: I can't blame InvenSense investors for keeping a very close eye on developments in China. Here's how Dentinger put it:

Of course, he then went on to explain that China represents a "pretty sound and solid growth story," even at the low end of the trends on the table. InvenSense increased its Chinese sales 22% year over year in the first quarter, and Dentinger sees margins expanding in this market toward the end of the year.

Investors and market movers largely ignored that bit, as they have over the last year or so. InvenSense shares have plunged 62% lower in 52 weeks, while sales soared 59% higher and negative free cash flows turned positive. The company sits on more cash than debt, and the stock trades for less than 14 times forward earnings estimates.

The small-cap stock is as jumpy as its quarterly results are lumpy, but all things considered, we're talking about a healthy business with clearly defined high-growth target markets. I think that InvenSense's best days still lie ahead. And if you agree with my view, there's never been a better time to snatch up a few InvenSense shares at very attractive prices.

The article Why InvenSense Inc. Stock Dropped 22% in August originally appeared on Fool.com.

Anders Bylund has no position in any stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool owns and recommends InvenSense. Try any of our Foolish newsletter services free for 30 days. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.