Callaway Golf Company (ELY) is engaged in the design, manufacture, and sale of golf equipment. Products include drivers, fairway woods, hybrids, irons, wedges, putters and balls. The company also sells such accessories as golf bags, golf gloves, golf headwear, golf footwear, golf towels, and golf umbrellas. In addition, Callaway licenses its trademarks to third parties for use on apparel, watches, travel gear and eyewear. The firm sells its products to pro shops, sporting goods retailers and mass merchants.

Callaway had good news for investors last week, when it said it expected FY07 EPS of 87-89 cents and revenues of $1.125 billion. Analysts had been looking for 87 cents and $1.11 billion. The CEO cited an improved product development process, improved inventory management and the successful re-launch of the Top-Flite brand for the favorable view. Wachovia subsequently upgraded the shares from "market perform" to "outperform." The stock popped into bullish "flag" consolidation pattern on the announcement. Prices frequently exit flags moving in the same direction they were traveling on entry. In this case, that would be to the upside.

Go into a golf proshop and ask to see a "Big Bertha." They will hand you a club that puts you in mind of a breadbox on the end of a stick. Still, the line is a big seller and the Carlsbad, California outfit that created it is one of the most successful in the business.

Callaway Golf Company (NYSE: ELY) is engaged in the design, manufacture, and sale of golf equipment. Products include drivers, fairway woods, hybrids, irons, wedges, putters and balls. The company also sells such accessories as golf bags, golf gloves, golf headwear, golf footwear, golf towels, and golf umbrellas. In addition, Callaway licenses its trademarks to third parties for use on apparel, watches, travel gear and eyewear. The firm markets its products to pro shops, sporting goods retailers and mass merchants.

Callaway had good news for investors earlier in the week, when it said it expected Q1 EPS of 46-48 cents and revenues of $330-335 million. Analysts had been looking for 39 cents and $321.6 million. The CEO attributed the favorable forecast to "improved product development and supply chain processes." Wedbush Morgan subsequently reiterated its "buy" rating on the issue and boosted its price target from $18 to $21.

One of my hobbies is looking for seriously undervalued stocks. To accomplish this feat, I sometimes use a stock screener like this one from AOL. Looking for really cheap stocks, I'll sometimes search for companies trading very close to book value with little or no debt and some profitability. Normally, very few stocks meet all of these criteria. The ones that do are almost always boring and nothing you've ever heard of. Finding a brand moat -- a company offering a consistent, well-known, high-quality product -- using these screens almost never happens. That's why I was particularly shocked when I found Adams Golf, Inc. (OTCBB: ADGO) the other night. Before I tell you about it, I should warn you that it is an OTC stock under $5 and is potentially quite volatile.

As any golfer knows, the company is best-known for its line of hybrid golf clubs, several of which received rave reviews in the most recent issue of Golf Digest. For the quarter ended September 30 2006, total sales increased 47% to $15 million. While the quarter showed a net loss of 2 cents per share, for the 9 months ended September 30, the company has fully diluted earnings of 16 cents per share.

The most interesting thing about the company is its balance sheet. The market cap is tiny at $45 million, and the company has $11.7 million in cash according to the latest 10-Q, and a book value of $37.5 million with no debt. The book value consists almost entirely of current assets so it's probably a reasonably good proxy for its liquidation value.

So, Mr. Market is according the business a value of about $7.5 million. Does that make sense? I don't think so. The company is recognized as one of the most innovative golf club manufacturers going, and spends over $2 million per year on research and development. As any deep value investor will tell you, this sort of investment in the future is extremely rare among companies valued this cheaply. The company has a trailing twelve-months price/sales ratio of 0.65, compared to Callaway Golf Company's (NYSE: ELY) ratio of 1.