Recently hitting all-time highs above 87 on Halloween, home-town hero (for me) Under Armour has moved down to an attractive level today and seems to have left the 70s behind.  

The brand is still gaining in popularity and the company - by sales and by market cap - has a long ways to go in eventually dethroning Nike.  Which they will.

So out now is their new running shoe, the Charge RC.  I am not a runner myself and just in terms of their look, they are a bit crazy looking, like clown shoes, but here is their marketing schlock about why they are the cats meow:

• Exclusive UA Micro G® foam cushioning is light, bouncy & super-responsive.
• Zonal UA Compression hugs the foot & promotes power.
• Built-in Carbon Spring Plate maximizes energy return.
• Ultra-light MPZ® toe & tongue pads protect your feet.
• HeatGear® fabric wicks moisture for cool, dry performance.
• Carbon & blown rubber outsole delivers cushioning, traction & durability.

So take of that what you will, there are a shit-ton of ®s in there, so it's probably not very informative.  I will suspend judgment until I've heard some actual runners give their reviews.

But I will highlight some points from their latest conference call...

"Armour Fleece is helping Under Armour, again redefine the performance category. Much like we did with the basic T-shirt, we have taken the basic hoodie, the go-to apparel product for our core consumer, and raised expectations of what that product can be. And it has enabled us to bring new price points to retail as well. With hoodies ranging from $50 to now more than $75. All of this with the consumer who has been accustomed to playing less than half of that for a hoodie in the past. "

Here is what I think is interesting.  There are companies out there who seek to squeeze into a market, price-wise.  Then there are companies who like to set their own market price for their products.  Think AAPL and literally everything they sell.

So I say, follow the companies that can convince people to pay more for their products than others in the same category.  That pricing power means the company has built a strong brand with almost cult loyalty, and those are the stocks you want in your portfolio.

"And we will continue to consistently flow UA innovations to consumers, with next-generation technologies like Coal Black, that reflects heat and UV rays before they get to you. Imagine staying 10 degrees cooler in the summertime because of the effect of the material on your body. That is Coal Black and it's an innovation coming to the market next spring."

So they continue to innovate, they are not content to just keep selling the same UA-logod products to new generations of athletes - they seek to create whole new categories of products, i.e. create markets.

"In footwear, the arrows continue to point up as our third quarter business grew 97% to over $50 million. Through September, we have already surpassed what we did in all of 2010, and our sell-through's over the past 6 months give us the confidence that our footwear is resonating with consumers."

For those bullish on UA over the long term, their better performance in footwear will come as a relief, as the brand was significantly derailed - in analysts' eyes - in 2008 when they initially ventured into footwear.  Nike captured the athletic apparel market by first dominating in shoes, while UA looks to extend its preeminence in athletic apparel into footwear.

Of course the brand moves into more and more categories, but they also have barely scratched the surface of international sales.  It's still primarily a U.S. brand.  I think over the next couple years that will change.

From a Wall Street perspective, this is still an under-the-radar stock but my gut feeling is that is about to change.  And when a stock goes from under-the-radar to full-on darling, you'll see a big price move.

All quotes from their Q3 2011 earnings call transcript http://seekingalpha.com/article/302011-under-armour-s-ceo-discusses-q3-2011...