Thursday, May 31, 2012

iParty to Execute a Reverse Stock Split?

iParty (IPT) hit an intra-day high of $0.23 yesterday (02012.05.30) before closing down almost 10% at $0.19. Back on May 2nd I wrote the following: If IPT can move above two dimes, then a move to three dimes could happen quickly. Yesterday's IPT volume was heavy (177,700 vs. trailing-3-month average of 18,266). It appears as though iParty wants to execute a reverse stock split. The ratio has yet to be decided, but the company mentioned a range of 1:5 to 1:20.

This is the third time this month I blogged about iParty...

[02012.05.04] iParty (IPT) closed at $0.21 yesterday (02012.05.03). Today is down a penny at $0.20. Interesting news story involving an iParty store. iParty defends offensive favors. Some IPT insider buying has taken place at $0.19. The dollar amounts invested were small, but they were insider buys nonetheless.

[02012.05.02] iParty (IPT) reported decent 1Q'12 results last week on 02012.04.25. Now IPT shares seems are near $0.20, which appears to be a resistance price. If IPT can move above two dimes, then a move to three dimes could happen quickly. $0.29 is the 52-week high. When it comes to historical pricing, Finance.Yahoo.com for IPT goes back to 30 December 01999 when it opened at $3.72. I think the last time IPT closed above a buck was when it closed at $1.01 on 26 April 02004 (i.e. 8 years ago).

Sunday, May 27, 2012

Geeknet: Insiders Bought This Month (May)

Geeknet (GKNT) had some insider buying this month. Yesterday (02012.05.26) GKNT closed at $16.47. 52-week range: $12.07 - $30.23. The insider buying took place between May 14th and May 23rd at prices ranging from $14.45 and $14.86. http://www.nasdaq.com/symbol/gknt/insider-trades

Friday, May 25, 2012

US Airways Hits New 52-Week High

US Airways (LCC) hit a new 52-week high for the second day in a row today (02012.05.25). I mention this only because new 52-week highs aren't happening with much frequency these days. LCC closed yesterday (02012.05.24) at $12.16 after making a new 52-week high of $12.23 and today it hit $12.40. Right now LCC is #9 in the GDT::Portfolio and this means the portfolio sucks right now. I placed an order to sell some of our LCC shares at $12.57 ($4Pi).

Tuesday, May 22, 2012

Facebook: Added to Our FB Holdings

I added to our Facebook holdings today (02012.05.22) buying a small number of share at $31.42. When I placed the order FB was at $33.04. I decided to place an order at a slightly lower price not really caring if the buy got executed. To determine the buy price I rounded the product Pi (3.141592653589793238) and ten to the nearest penny.

Monday, May 21, 2012

Facebook Drops Well Below IPO Price

Facebook (FB) is down 13.3% right now at $33.14 (02012.05.21 at 9:54am EDT). Probably won't take long before the shareholder class action suits start getting filed.

Interesting tidbit... On 21 May 02012, Google (GOOG) has remained above its IPO price for 2,832 consecutive days, but Facebook (FB) could do it for only one day.

Friday, May 18, 2012

Facebook Added To the GDT::Portfolio

Facebook (FB) has become a GDT::Portfolio stock. I bought some FB today (02012.05.18) at $40.89. The stock went public at $38.00. Our FB investment was on the nano-scale (i.e. very low dollar amount).

I decided to buy some FB after experience a Facebook $Pi moment...

Wednesday, May 16, 2012

Axion Power Intl.: Added to Our AXPW Holdings

Axion Power Intl. (AXPW) reported 1Q'12 results prior to the market opening yesterday (02012.05.15). Today, I added to our Axion holdings by buying AXPW shares at $0.39.
"I have previously mentioned that the road to PbC commercialization has been longer than we anticipated, but that we were finding the market opportunities, for our PbC product applications, larger and more diverse than we had initially anticipated." -- Axion CEO Thomas Granville

Another tidbit from the 1Q'12 press release.

"We have received numerous new requests for proposals and quotations, more than half of which have come from new markets for our product. And although these are new opportunities in new markets, it is the historical advantage of PbC batteries that makes the equation work."

And I believe it's possible the Axion "equation" does "work."

AXPW fell a nickel after 1Q'12 results were reported and closed yesterday (02012.05.15) down four cents at $0.38. 52-week range: $0.25 - $0.84.

Tuesday, May 15, 2012

Science from Scientists; Facebook Going Public

[item] Comcast, iRobot and Google Support STEM Programs in Massachusetts Public Schools Through Science from Scientist caught my attention because Comcast, iRobot and Google are all GDT::Portfolio stocks. Having scientists help students learn about science makes sense to me.

[item] Facebook is going public on Friday (02012.05.18) of this week. The company has increased the size of its IPO. Initial share price will be in the $34 - $38 range. The number of shares was increased by 50.6 million to ~388 million. Facebook Inc.'s IPO might raise $14.75 billion.

Monday, May 14, 2012

Yahoo! Gets Yet Another New CEO; LCC to $18?

Yahoo! (YHOO) CEO Scott Thompson quit just after about four months on the job and now Ross Levinsohn steps in as interim CEO. If I've said it n times, I've said it ++n times: Yahoo! is the Peyton Place of Silicon Valley. YHOO closed on Friday, 02012.05.11, at $15.19.

US Airways (LCC) made a new 52-week high of $11.47 on Friday (02012.05.11) before closing at $11.32. TheFlyOnTheWall.com reported that was "upgraded to Buy from Neutral at Sterne Agee". Sterne Agee's target price was $18. That'd be nice. I have plans to sell some LCC at $12.57 ($4Pi).

Saturday, May 12, 2012

Geeknet and Spire Show Signs of Life

Geeknet (GKNT) issued press release announcing "Plans to Conduct Review of Strategic Alternatives for Online Media Business." These online media businesses include Slashdot, SourceForge and Freecode. From the company's press release.
"In making the announcement, the Company stated there can be no assurance that the exploration of strategic alternatives will result in any transaction. The Company undertakes no obligation to make any further announcements regarding the exploration of strategic alternatives unless and until a final decision is made."

GKNT closed at $15.03 on Friday, 02012,05.11, up 14.2% for the day. Trading volume was only 64,537 shares.

Spire (SPIR) reported 1Q'12 results prior to the market opening on Friday, 02012.05.11. From the company's press release.

“We anticipate the softness in the solar industry to continue for a while longer. However, the bottom in equipment spending is expected to occur sometime toward the end of 2012, as manufacturers begin capital improvement programs including equipment updates and expansion. Market researchers predict a return to double digit growth sometime in 2013 that would extend for at least the next several fiscal years." -- CEO Roger Little

SPIR closed on 02012.05.11 at $1.03, up 13.2% for the day. Volume was only 27,940 shares.

Friday, May 11, 2012

STEM at $0.911

StemCells (STEM) closed at $0.911... STEM has been a "call 911" investment for us. Company burns cash. It has stem cells, but Wall Street doesn't seem to give them much value.

StemCells reported 1Q'12 results yesterday (02012.05.10) after the markets closed. Say what?

"We have now established proof of principle that our cells are capable of myelinating nerve axons in an appropriate, progressive and durable way in the brains of patients with a severe myelination disorder." -- StemCells Inc.

Wednesday, May 9, 2012

Kratos Buying a Drone Maker

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions (KTOS) is making an acquisition and floating more stock. The company is selling 20 million shares at $5.00 per share with the net proceeds going toward to the $155 million purchase of privately held drone maker Composite Engineering Inc.

The details are plentiful... KratosDefense.com::Kratos to Acquire Leading Composite Manufacturer and Aerial Target Systems Provider Composite Engineering, Inc.

KTOS closed yesterday (02012.05.08) at $4.77. 52-week range: $4.61 - $13.47.

Friday, May 4, 2012

Geeknet; US Airways; iParty (I wish)

Checked stocks for the first time today and noticed the NASDAQ was down 1.63%. The GDT::Porfolio was all read except for Geeknet (GKNT) and US Airways (LCC). At one point GKNT was up almost 8%, but right now it's up 1%. LCC is made yet another new 52-week high almost hitting $11. Right now it's at $10.89, up ~1.7% for the day.

iParty (IPT) closed at $0.21 yesterday (02012.05.03). Today is down a penny at $0.20. Interesting news story involving an iParty store. iParty defends offensive favors.

Some IPT insider buying has taken place at $0.19. The dollar amounts invested were small, but they were insider buys nonetheless.

Thursday, May 3, 2012

1Q'12 Results: Geeknet, Hanger, Level 3 Communications

Geeknet (GKNT) reported 1Q'12 results prior to the market opening today (02012.05.03). 1Q'12 revenues were 12% higher than those for 1Q'11, but the company lost money. Geeknet ended 1Q'12 with approximately $5.09 per share in cash. GKNT closed yesterday (02012.05.02) at $13.34 after hitting a new 52-week low of $13.00. 52-week range: $13.00 - $30.23. Note: There has been some option exercising going on with GKNT and it appears to have increased insider ownership by about 0.5%.

Hanger (HGR) reported 1Q'12 results after the market closed yesterday (02012.05.02). I liked reading this: "The Company's cash flow from operations increased $13.6 million to $1.3 million during the quarter ended March 31, 2012, compared to a use of $12.3 million for the first quarter of 2011." More the press release: "We are very pleased with the strength of this performance and remain confident in achieving our full year guidance. Never the less, we expect the regulatory and reimbursement environment to remain challenging though the remainder of 2012." From my seat in coach I can see that "never the less" being "challenging." HGR closed yesterday (02012.05.02) at $23.29. 52-week range: $14.57 - $27.90.

Level 3 Communications (LVLT) reported 1Q'12 results prior to the market opening today (02012.05.03). From the Level 3 press release: "In the aggregate for the remaining three quarters of 2012, we expect Free Cash Flow to be positive. We continue to have confidence in our outlook for this year, and expect to grow the business for the remainder of 2012." LVLT closed yesterday (02012.05.02) at $24.26. 52-week range: $16.51 - $40.05.

Wednesday, May 2, 2012

AMZN (Amazon.com) Hit $200 One Year Ago Today

I get a daily email message from Timehop Abe having the subject-line... "Year ago Gerald's day on May 2, 2011"

One year ago today I tweeted the following.

Amazon.com (AMZN) closed on its first day of trading on 01997.05.16 at an adjusted price of $1.73 ($20.75 prior to 2:1 split on 01998.06.02; 3:1 split on 01999.01.05; 2:1 split on 01999.09.02). 5099 days later (i.e. 13 years, 11 months, 16 days) AMZN hit $200 and I captured the moment using Google Finance.

Right now (9:00am MST on 02012.05.02) AMZN is at $230.06. AMZN is up ~13,198.3% in the span of ~15 years.

iRobot; LookSmart (yeah right); iParty

iRobot (IRBT) has turned into GDT::Portfolio laggard and this has been disappointing. I saw the following news this morning: "iRobot initiated with a Sell at CRT Capital." I've seen "initiated coverage with a Sell rating" before and I still don't know what it means. My take: I want to initiate an investment in iRobot, but I want to initiate my position at a price that is lower than the current price. Selling pressures can drive down a stock's price; therefore, existing shareholders need to sell. IRBT closed yesterday (02012.05.01) at $23.55. 52-week range: $22.46 - $38.33.

LookSmart (LOOK) reported 1Q'12 results after the market closed yesterday (02012.05.01). The company ended the quarter with cash per share of ~$1.30. LOOK closed yesterday at $0.95. 52-week range: $0.91 - $1.96.

iParty (IPT) reported decent 1Q'12 results last week on 02012.04.25. Now IPT shares seems are near $0.20, which appears to be a resistance price. If IPT can move above two dimes, then a move to three dimes could happen quickly. $0.29 is the 52-week high. When it comes to historical pricing, Finance.Yahoo.com for IPT goes back to 30 December 01999 when it opened at $3.72. I think the last time IPT closed above a buck was when it closed at $1.01 on 26 April 02004 (i.e. 8 years ago).

Tuesday, May 1, 2012

Need To Be a Geek To Understand Geeknet?

Geeknet (GKNT) made a new 52-week low today (02012.05.01) of $13.56. I'm clueless as to why GKNT has morphed into a bad investment for us. I like what Geeknet is doing with Slashdot. Today the company announced Slashdot's launch of its "Business Intelligence Website for IT Professionals." Seems like there should be a demand to this type of resource. I agree with Slashdot's assessment that the "field of business intelligence and analytics" is "white-hot." A month earlier Slashdot launched Slashdot TV, which is a "business-to-business technology video channel."

In preparing this posting I came across something that I posted a year ago. From Geeknet's 1Q'11 conference call. In a nutshell... (a) Kenneth Langone made a point to remind us that he (and two others) control 35+% of the stock, so they have a vested interest in the company. (b) He considers the company's "runway" of opportunities to be "limitless" but the company needs to execute. (c) He considers his management team to be one of the strongest he has ever had (he co-founded Home Depot).

Geeknet reports 1Q'12 results on May 3rd.

Back on Pi Day 02012, The Benchmark Company initiated coverage on GKNT with a 'Buy' rating. GKNT closed at $15.10 on 02012.03.13 (the day before Pi Day 02012).

On 02012.05.01, at it's current price of $13.76, GKNT has a PSR (Price Sales Ratio) of 0.78.

Bruker Reports 1Q'12 Results

Bruker (BRKR) announced 1Q'12 results prior to the market opening today (02012.05.01). I liked the following.
Frank Laukien, Bruker’s President and CEO, commented: “We are pleased with our first quarter 2012 results, as we delivered 13.7% organic revenue growth, along with double-digit growth in operating income and net income year-over-year. Our backlog continued to grow even further due to excellent first quarter 2012 orders. The tone in many of our end markets has improved since the fourth quarter of 2011, and our focus on new products and innovative solutions for major secular trends in the life and materials sciences and related industries is resulting in excellent, profitable organic growth.”

I also liked this... "For the first quarter of 2012, Bruker’s cash flow provided by operations was $4.8 million, compared to cash used in operations of ($29.4) million in the first quarter of 2011."

BRKR closed yesterday (02012.04.30) at $15.03.