Wednesday, October 30, 2013

Facebook (FB) Reports 3Q'13 Results

Facebook (FB) reported 3Q'13 results after the market closed today (02013.10.30). The press release started with the following.
For nearly ten years, Facebook has been on a mission to connect the world," said Mark Zuckerberg, Facebook founder and CEO. "The strong results we achieved this quarter show that we're prepared for the next phase of our company, as we work to bring the next five billion people online and into the knowledge economy."

It appears as though Facebook exceeded expectations because FB is up 9% in after hours trading.

I found this interesting: Facebook's effective tax rate during 3Q'13 was 41%. Facebook ended 3Q'13 with $9.33 billion in "cash."

FB closed today (02013.10.30) at $49.01. 52-week range: $18.87 - $54.83. At 4:50pm EDT (after hours) FB was at $53.67.

[update::02013.10.31] The markets just opened and FB is down almost 4% at $47.15. Things sure changed during the after after hours.

Hanger (HGR) Reports 3Q'13 Results

Hanger (HGR), the longest held GDT::Portfolio stock, reported 3Q'13 results after the market closed yesterday and I thought they had a good quarter. HGR closed yesterday (02013.10.29) at $35.75. 52-week range: $22.38 - $37.39. Hanger appears to be growing despite the uncertainty of the politics of the health care industry. From the 3Q'13 press release:
The Company anticipates generating cash flow from operations of between $90 million and $100 million in 2013 and investing a total of $35 million to $40 million in capital additions. The Company will continue its acquisition program with a goal of closing acquisitions that total approximately $20 million in annualized revenues in 2013.

It's tempting to place an order to sell some HGR at 12 $Pi ($37.70), but my next target sell price at 13 $Pi ($40.84).

[update::02013.10.31] HGR hit a new 52-week high of $38.14 yesterday (02013.10.30) before closing at $37.35.

Saturday, October 26, 2013

Amazon.com (AMZN) Spikes Up

Amazon.com reported 3Q'13 results and Wall Street sent AMZN up ~9.4% on Friday, 02013.10.26. AMZN closed at $363.39 after hitting a new all-time high of $368.40. I didn't like Jeff Bezos when we bought Amazon.com, so I was impatient getting rid of our shares. Now I like Jeff Bezos and I like how he runs Amazon.com. I consider Amazon.com a 21st century Informatics company.

Thursday, October 24, 2013

iRobot (IRBT) Experiencing Extreme Volatility

I posted the following two days ago on 02013.10.24.
iRobot (IRBT) reported 3Q'13 results after the market closed today (02013.10.22). The press release started out with "bad" news.
"I am pleased to report that we delivered Q3 results in line with our expectations." -- iRobot CEO Colin Angle

On 02013.10.22 IRBT closed at $36.45. After the close the company announced 3Q'13 results. The next day, on 02013.10.23, IRBT opened at $32.50, down 10.8%. IRBT closed yesterday at $34.86, down 4.4% for the day. Volume was 2.1M vs. trailing-3-month avg. of ~0.46M. Today, IRBT closed at $37.64, up almost 8.1%. Volume: ~0.8M. I don't know what's going on. In a nutshell, I don't need to know what's going on because I consider IRBT a long-term investment. I believe robotics is our future and iRobot is a robotics company.

Sold Some US Airways (LCC) at 7 $Pi ($21.99)

US Airways (LCC) hit a new 52-week high of $22.09 yesterday (02013.10.23) and I sold some LCC at 7 $Pi ($21.99). Note: The sold LCC shares were purchased at $Pi on 02008.06.16.

Tuesday, October 22, 2013

iRobot (IRBT) Reports 3Q'13 Results

iRobot (IRBT) reported 3Q'13 results after the market closed today (02013.10.22). The press release started out with "bad" news.
"I am pleased to report that we delivered Q3 results in line with our expectations." -- iRobot CEO Colin Angle

IRBT closed today (02013.10.22) at $36.39. 52-week range: $16.25 - $41.12.

Here's an update before I even pushed the "Publish" button...

I was typing this posting in without having looked at after-hours trading. I just checked after-hours trading (it's almost 1:20pm MST) and IRBT is down almost 9%. The company met expectations, so like said... "bad" news.

Sold Some Yahoo! (YHOO) at 11 $Pi ($34.56)

Yahoo! (YHOO) hit 11 $Pi ($34.56) today (02013.10.22), so I sold some shares to generate a Pi moment. Unless finances dictate otherwise, my next YHOO sell target price is 16 $Pi ($50.27).

Monday, October 21, 2013

Illumina (ILMN) Reports 3Q'13 Results

Illumina (ILMN) reported 3Q'13 results after the market closed on 02013.10.21. Reuters headline: "Illumina beats estimates for the eighth straight quarter". In after hours trading ILMN was up 6+%.

From Illumina's press release.

"These results highlight another quarter of solid operational execution and record financial performance," said Illumina’s President and Chief Executive Officer, Jay Flatley. "We continue to be pleased with the robust global trends demonstrated by our business and believe we are positioned to continue to deliver strong growth."

ILMN closed today (02013.10.21) at $81.76. 52-week range: $44.78 - $85.81.

Friday, October 18, 2013

Google (GOOG) Hits a Giga-Dollar; Sold 1 GOOG at Hecto-Pi $Pi ($986.46)

Google (GOOG) hit $1000 today (02013.10.18). Note: 10/18 is Exascale Day (switch the / in 10/18 to 10^18; 10^18 is the value of the exa- metric prefix). It only seems fitting that GOOG hit 1 kilo-dollar on Exascale Day. To generate a hecto-Pi Pi moment, I sold a GOOG share at 314 $Pi (314 is Pi rounded to the nearest hundredth (3.14) times 100; 100 is 10^2, which is the metric prefix hecto-).

[02013.10.19] GOOG closed yesterday at $1011.41, up $122.61 (13.8%) for the day. Volume was ~11.6 million vs. trailing-3-month avg. of 2 million.

Thursday, October 17, 2013

Facebook (FB) Hits a New 52-Week/All-Time High

Facebook (FB) hit a new 52-week/all-time high today (02013.10.17) of $52.22 before closing at $52.21. There's a good chance that Google's (GOOG) 3Q'13 results, which were reported today after the market closed, will be good news for FB. Facebook Inc. ended today with a market value of $127.15 billion. FB also ended today at #9 in the GDT::Portfolio. Because we own a nano-amount of Facebook shares, I have to be a user and advocate of Facebook.

Google (GOOG) Reports 3Q'13 Results

Google (GOOG) reported 3Q'13 results after the market closed today (02013.10.17). I immediately went to read the company's press release after seeing GOOG was up over 8% in after hours trading. In a nutshell, Google had another great quarter. Free cash flow: $2.79 billion; capital expenditures: $2.29 billion; workforce increased by 1984 workers; effective tax rate: 15%; and, "cash" at end of the quarter: $56.2 billion.

GOOG closed today (02013.10.17) at $888.79. 52-week range: $636.00 - $928.00. Based on after hours trading it's possible Google will hit a new 52-week/all-time high tomorrow.

Tuesday, October 15, 2013

Yahoo! (YHOO) Reports 3Q'13 Results

Yahoo! (YHOO) reported 3Q'13 results after the market closed. It was 1:09pm Arizona Time when I decided to look to see how YHOO was doing after hours. If % change was green, then earnings must have been acceptable; otherwise, red would imply disappointment. Percent change was green and YHOO was up over 6%. 10 minutes later it was up only 2%. What does this mean for YHOO tomorrow? I haven't a clue.

I liked the following Yahoo! announcement.

Yahoo also announced today that it has entered into an amendment to the share repurchase and preference sale agreement with Alibaba Group. The amendment reduces the maximum number of shares of Alibaba Group that Yahoo is required to sell in connection with a qualified initial public offering of Alibaba, from 261.5 million shares to 208 million shares.

And I liked the following.

"In Q3, we generated free cash flow of $249 million and returned an additional $1.7 billion to shareholders through buybacks," said Ken Goldman, CFO of Yahoo. "As we exit Q3, we are extremely pleased with the strength of our balance sheet, with nearly $3.2 billion in cash and securities, and we are well positioned with ample liquidity to fund our future investments for growth."

YHOO closed today (02013.10.15/Petascale Day/Ada Lovelace Day) at $33.38. 52-week range: $33.06 - $34.32.

Bought Some More Nanosphere (NSPH) at $1.91

Nanosphere (NSPH) closed yesterday (02013.10.14) at $1.91 and this morning I bought some more NSPH at $1.91. 52-week range: $1.72 - $4.49. Our NSPH investment is currently underwater; however, I remain optimistic about the company long term.

Monday, October 14, 2013

Geeknet (GKNT) Hits a New 52-Week High

Geeknet (GKNT) hit a new 52-week high today (02013.10.14) of $19.02 before closing at $18.79, up almost 5% for the day. The last time GKNT closed above $19 was when it closed at $19.05 on 02012.10.08. GKNT is an important GDT::Portfolio stock, so I'm hoping more new 52-week highs are coming soon. I have order in place to sell some GKNT at 7 $Pi ($21.99).

Sunday, October 13, 2013

Cray (CRAY) Gets Hammered

Cray (CRAY) closed down 11% at $23.07 on Friday, 02013.10.11. 52-week range: $11.76 - $28.59. Volume was almost 3.5 times the trailing-3-month average. In a nutshell, I think the government shutdown can have a negative impact on Cray's immediate and short term business.

Thursday, October 10, 2013

Bought Some More Aastrom Biosciences (ASTM) at $0.23

I've been keeping our investments in StemCells (STEM) and Aastrom Bioscience at or near the same dollar amount. I bought some STEM two days ago; therefore, I bought some ASTM today (02013.10.10) at $0.23. Right now STEM and ASTM are #21 and #25, respectively, in the GDT::Portfolio.

[02013.10.11] I bought the ASTM shares yesterday just before the market closed. After the market closed, Aastrom Biosciences announced a 20-to-1 reverse stock split. From the press release: "Following the reverse stock split, the company expects to have approximately 4.4 million shares of common stock outstanding."

Sold Some Altair Nanotechnologies (ALTI) at $4.20

Altair Nanotechnologies (ALTI) closed on 02013.10.03 at $2.64. Subsequent closing prices have been $3.16 (10/04), $3.56 (10/07), $4.12 (10.08) and $5.05 (10/09). The ~91% upward spike has happened on heavy volume. I do know why ALTI is doing what is doing, so I sold some ALTI at $4.20 on 02013.10.08. The sold shares were sold at a loss; however, the shares that remain in the GDT::Portfolio are now well above water.

Tuesday, October 8, 2013

Bought Some More StemCells (STEM) at $1.49

I need my head examined, but I added more StemCells (STEM) today (02013.10.08) at $1.49. I decided to buy some STEM after the company announced they had completed a public offering. From the press release.
"The Company sold a total of 12,845,500 units, which includes the underwriter's full over-allotment option. The Company sold the units at a public offering price of $1.45 per unit and received total proceeds, net of offering expenses, underwriting discounts and commissions, of approximately $17.3 million. Each unit sold consists of one share of common stock, par value $.01 per share, and a warrant to purchase one half share of common stock. The warrants have an exercise price of $1.80 per share, are exercisable immediately, and will expire five years from the date of issuance."

Alcatel-Lucent (ALU) is Shrinking Its Workforce

Alcatel-Lucent (ALU) is a GDT::Portfolio bottom-feeder. Yesterday (02013.10.07) ALU closed at $3.85. 52-week range: $0.91 - $4.02. ALU's 52-week high of $4.02 as reached five days ago on 02013.10.03. Yesterday, after the market closed, Alcatel-Lucent announced it was cutting 15,000 jobs, or ~15% of its workforce over the span of the next two years. The company also said it's going to add 5000 workers to support growth areas. The job cuts by geography: "4,100 positions in Europe, the Middle East and Africa; 3,800 in the Asia-Pacific region; and 2,100 in the Americas."

On 02013.10.03, Raymond James downgraded ALU to 'market perform' from 'strong buy.'

Saturday, October 5, 2013

Altair Nanotechnologies (ALTI) Spikes Up on Heavy Volume

Altair Nanotechnologies (ALTI) is a GDT::Portfolio bottom-feeder. The company has once again changed upper management and yesterday (Friday, 02013.10.04) ALTI shares closed up 19+%. Trading volume was 10.7 times the trailing-3-month average.

I was hesitant to post this posting because I'm fully aware that ALTI could give it all back this coming Monday; nonetheless, I would be good for the GDT::Portfolio if ALTI moved into the top 15 (right now it's at #22).

ALTI closed on 02013.10.04 at $3.16. 52-week range: $2.02 - $4.32.

[02013.10.08] Yesterday (Monday, 02013.10.07), ALTI closed at $3.56, up ~16%. Intra-day high was $4.30, just two cents below its 52-week high. Volume was 385,800, ~22 times trailing-3-month average. ALTI was up even though the NASDAQ was down almost 1% for the day. I have not seen any "news" that account for the last two days of trading in this stock.

Friday, October 4, 2013

Red Hat (RHT) Hits New 52-Week Low

Red Hat (RHT) hit a new 52-week low yesterday (02013.10.03) of $44.31 before ending the day at $44.91. RHT's 52-week high: $57.10. Red Hat's PSR (Price-Sales-Ratio) has dropped below 6. For comparison, AAPL (Apple) and MSFT (Microsoft) have PSRs of 2.6 and 3.6, respectively.

RHT has always been a pricey stock, so I'm not surprised it's struggling. Two days ago Forbes.com had a posting titled: "Open Source Is Good And All, But Proprietary Is Still Winning."

I don't have many RHT shares to sell; therefore, my next sale price remains $67.48.

Wednesday, October 2, 2013

StemCells (STEM) Tanks Again

StemCells (STEM) is tanking this morning (02013.10.02) after the company issued the following press release.
StemCells, Inc. (STEM) today announced the pricing of an underwritten public offering of an aggregate of 11,170,000 units at a public offering price of $1.45 per unit. Each unit consists of one share of common stock, par value $.01 per share, and a warrant to purchase one half share of common stock. The warrants have an exercise price of $1.80 per share, are exercisable immediately, and will expire five years from the date of issuance. The Company expects to receive gross proceeds of approximately $16.2 million, before deducting underwriting discounts and commissions and other estimated offering expenses. The Company has also granted the underwriters a 30 day option to purchase up to an additional 1,675,500 units to cover over allotments, if any.

Dilution, dilution, dilution.

STEM closed yesterday (02013.10.01) at $1.68. 52-week range: $1.37 - $2.50. $1.45 (which also includes a warrant) is a lot cheaper than $1.68; thus, the crash.