Friday, January 31, 2014

Google (GOOG) Reports 4Q'13 Results

Google (GOOG) reported 4Q'13 results after the market closed yesterday (02014.01.30). Here's what I mined from the company's press release.
During the last three months of 02013 Google had free cash flow of $2.98 billion while spending $2.26 billion on capital expenditures ("the majority of which was for production equipment, data-center construction, and real estate purchases"). In addition, during the last three months of 02013, Google hired 1,520 full-time workers. Google Inc. started 02013 with $48.1 billion in "cash" and 12 months later the cash increased to $58.7 billion. In a nutshell: It appears as though Google had a decent 02013.

GOOG closed yesterday (02014.01.30) at $1,135.39. Today GOOG had a gap open at $1,171.35 and it spiked to a new 52-week/all-time high of $1,172.00. Right now (7:44am MST) GOOG is at $1661.00 (up ~2.3%) even though the DJIA is down 1.33%, S&P 500 is down 1.13%, and NASDAQ is down 0.98%.

For the full year of 02013, Google had free cash flow of $11.29 billion and capital expenditures of $7.35 billion. Google's cash position increased by $10.62 billion during 02013. In addition, the number of Googlers (i.e. Google employees that don't work for Motorola) increased from 37,544 to 43,682 (approximately 16.8 new hires per day) during 02013.

Wednesday, January 29, 2014

Facebook (FB) Reports 4Q'13 Results

Facebook (FB) just reported 4Q'13 results.
"It was a great end to the year for Facebook. We're looking forward to our next decade and to helping connect the rest of the world." -- Mark Zuckerberg, Facebook founder and CEO

Facebook ended 02013 with approximately $11.45 billion in "cash." I liked the following from the press release: "Free cash flow for the full year of 2013 was $2.85 billion." And... "Capital expenditures for the fourth quarter of 2013 were $483 million."

FB closed today (02014.01.29) at $53.53. 52-week range: $22.67 - $59.31. 20 minutes after the release of 4Q'13 results, FB is up almost 7%.

Illumina (ILMN) Reports 4Q'13 Results

Illumina (ILMN) reported 4Q'13 results yesterday (02014.01.28) and they were good. From the company's press release.
"The fourth quarter capped off a spectacular year for Illumina with robust performance across all products and geographies. We made significant progress on key R&D programs which allowed us to introduce new products in early 2014 that will once again redefine the trajectory of sequencing. We plan to leverage this momentum in 2014 to more broadly enable the adoption of genomics." -- Jay Flatley, CEO

I continue to believe that we have entered the Genomics Age and Illumina is a solid genomics company.

From today (02014.01.29): "Mizuho raised its price target for Illumina shares to $175 citing the company's strong preannounced Q4 results and reiterates a Buy rating on the stock." I don't who Mizuho is, but I'd like to see ILMN at $175.

ILMN closed yesterday (02014.01.28) at $144.53. Today it hit a new 52-week high of $154.92. 52-week range: $48.00 - $154.92.

Adamis Pharmaceuticals (ADMP) Get a 'Buy' Recommendation

Adamis Pharmaceuticals (ADMP) got a 'Buy' recommendation yesterday (02014.01.28) by some research firm named CRT Capital. The 'Buy' recommendation took place prior the market opening. ADMP had a gap open at $7.10 after a previous close of $6.68. The $7.10 ended up being the intra-day high and ADMP closed at $6.81. Volume was 7.4-times the trailing-3-month average. ADMP is up 100% from its 52-week low of $3.40, but it's still well below it's 52-week high of $17.17.

Tuesday, January 28, 2014

Yahoo! (YHOO) Reports 4Q'13 Results

Yahoo! (YHOO) reported 4Q'13 results after the market closed today (02014.01.28). Prior to earnings release, YHOO closed up 4.3% at $38.22. Volume was twice the trailing-3-month average. I guess some investors wanted to have some YHOO shares just in case the company exceeded expectations. From what I can tell, Yahoo!'s 4Q'13 results were more or less met expected; therefore, the last time I checked YHOO was down more than 5%. I looked at Yahoo!'s 4Q'13 results and thought they were okay.

One item that I liked from the 4Q'13 press release.

During the fourth quarter of 2013, Yahoo repurchased 6 million shares for $231 million and used a net $60 million for acquisitions. During the year ended December 31, 2013, Yahoo repurchased 129 million shares for $3.3 billion and used a net $1.2 billion for acquisitions.

Yahoo! ended 02013 with $5 billion in cash.

YHOO closed on 02014.01.28 at $38.22. 52-week range: $19.31 - $41.72.

[02014.01.29] YHOO closed today at $34.89, down almost 9%, on heavy volume. 52-week range: $19.31 - $41.72. In a nutshell: Investors are not happy with Yahoo!'s growth prospects.

Sold Some American Airlines (AAL) at 10 $Pi ($31.42)

American Airlines (AAL) reported 4Q'13 results today (02014.01.28) prior the market opening and AAL spiked to $32.20. The spike resulted in a sale of some AAL shares at 10 $Pi ($31.42). I am undecided right now if an order will be placed to sell more AAL at 11 $Pi ($34.56).

Monday, January 27, 2014

Was Last Friday's Ugly Day a Sign of Things To Come?

Friday, 24 January 02014, was a bad day for the GDT::Portfolio because it was a "market perform" type of day. DJIA was down 1.96%; S&P 500 was down 2.09%; and the NASDAQ was down 2.16%. GDT::Portfolio stocks that took it on the chin: American Airlines down 3.03%; Alcatel-Lucent down 5.46%; Amazon.com down 3.07%; Aastrom Biosciences down 5.12%... and those are just the companies that start with the letter 'A'. Some other big movers... Google down 3.13%; iRobot down 3.04%; Illumina down 3.8%; Yahoo! down 3.76%, etc. etc. etc. Major ouch of the day goes to NeuroMetrix--down 9.27%;

Saturday, January 25, 2014

Adamis Pharmaceuticals (ADMP) Improves Its IP

Adamis Pharmaceuticals (ADMP) issued a press release prior to the market opening yesterday (2014.01.24) that I thought was good news. The press release started with the following.
Adamis Pharmaceuticals Corporation (NASDAQ: ADMP) announced an important addition to its intellectual property with receipt of a Notice of Allowance of patent claims supporting its cancer immunotherapy portfolio in the United States. Notice of Allowance is the final step in the issuance of a patent. The company believes that this patent will significantly strengthen Adamis' cancer immunotherapy patent portfolio and will further support its TeloB-VAX vaccine technology.

ADMP had a gap opening yesterday (02014.01.24) at $7.02 (previous close was $6.80). It spiked to $7.25 before falling to a close of $6.68 (down almost 2% for the day). Volume was 6-time trailing-3-month average. 52-week range: $3.40 - $17.17.

Wednesday, January 22, 2014

IBM Reports 4Q'13 Results and Analysts Say Boo!

IBM is not a GDT::Portfolio stock, but IBM reported 4Q'13 results and that means its end-of-year reporting season for 02013.

IBM's 4Q'13 did not meet Wall Street's expectations and right now, in pre-market trading on 02014.01.22, IBM is down 3.6%. IBM closed yesterday (02014.01.21) at $190.09. 52-week range: $172.57 - $215.90.

I found the following interesting.

"We continued to drive strong results across much of our portfolio and again grew earnings per share in 2013. While we made solid progress in businesses that are powering our future, in view of the company’s overall full year results, my senior team and I have recommended that we forgo our personal annual incentive payments for 2013." -- Ginni Rometty, IBM chairman, president and chief executive officer

IBM ended 02013 with "$11.1 billion of cash on hand and generated free cash flow of $15.0 billion excluding Global Financing receivables, down approximately $3.2 billion year over year. The company returned $17.9 billion to shareholders through $4.1 billion in dividends and $13.9 billion of gross share repurchases."

Tuesday, January 21, 2014

Bought Some More NeuroMetrix (NURO) at $2.50

NeuroMetrix (NURO) announced today (02014.01.21) that "Jiro Nakamura, M.D., Ph.D., has joined its Scientific Advisory Board. Dr. Nakamura is Professor, Division of Diabetes, Department of Internal Medicine, Diabetes Center at the Aichi Medical University School of Medicine in Nagakute, Japan." The NeuroMetrix press release contained the following.
Dr. Nakamura’s position in the Japan medical profession and understanding of local medical practice will be a valuable near-term source of advice and guidance as we move toward the launch of NC-stat DPNCheck in the Japanese market during 2014.

The NeuroMetrix press release stated: "Dr. Nakamura is considered a leader in the field of diabetes research and treatment." I find this believable; consequently, I find it difficult to believe Dr. Nakamura would become associated with a losing company.

NURO closed on 02014.01.17 at $2.61. 52-week range: $1.47 - $4.25.

Sold Some Illumina (ILMN) at 45 $Pi ($141.37)

Illumina (ILMN) spiked to $142.00 this morning (02014.01.21) prompting a sell order to be executed at 45 $Pi (141.37). The sale dropped ILMN from #3 to #4 in the GDT::Portfolio.

Thursday, January 16, 2014

Hanger (HGR) Closes Above $40 For the First Time

Hanger (HGR) hit a new 52-week high yesterday (02014.01.15) of $40.54 before closing at $40.45. HGR has been trading since 01992.03.17 and yesterday was the first time it ever closed above $40.

At the start of the year I spent time in a spot where there were a bunch of people my age jogging/running. I was walking, so I kept getting passed by these people. While walking I found myself saying over and over... don't sell anymore Hanger.

Wednesday, January 15, 2014

Illumina (ILMN) and the $1000 Human Genome

Illumina (ILMN) hit a new 52-week high yesterday (02014.01.14) of $122.35 before closing at $121.51.

Rewind to Stocks::Stuffer posting one 02012.03.29 titled: "Illumina Needs to Say no, nO, NO!". Here's the second paragraph from that posting.

Illumina (ILMN) closed yesterday (02012.03.28) at $49.88. 52-week range: $25.57 - $79.40. Roche's initial offer was $44.50 and their new offer is $51. I don't want sell our ILMN shares at $51 because I think they are worth more than that; therefore, this is potentially bad news because other investors might disagree with my opinion and be happy cashing out at $51. I continue to believe Roche is trying to buy Illumina on the cheap.

Yesterday (02014.01.14) Illumina issued a press release that started with the following.

Illumina, Inc. (ILMN) today broke the ‘sound barrier’ of human genomics by enabling the $1,000 genome. This achievement is made possible by the new HiSeq X Ten Sequencing System. This platform includes dramatic technology breakthroughs that enable researchers to undertake studies of unprecedented scale by providing the throughput to sequence tens of thousands of human whole genomes in a single year in a single lab.

I continue to believe that we have entered into the Age of Genomics.

Sunday, January 12, 2014

Nanosphere (NSPH) Has a Wild Friday (1/10/02014)

Nanosphere (NSPH) had a volatile Friday on 02014.01.10. NSPH close at $2.66 on Thursday, 02014.01.09. Prior to the market opening on Friday, Nanosphere issued prelimary 4Q'13 results. NSPH opened Friday at $2.88 (a gap open of 8.3%) and it spiked to an intra-day high of $2.97 (up 11.7%), but it ending up closing at $2.50 (down 6%). Volume was 2.28 million vs. 0.61 million. NSPH 52-week range: $1.72 - $4.49.

Friday, January 10, 2014

Bought Some More VeriTeQ (VTEQ) at $0.83

I need my head examined, but I bought some VeriTeQ (VTEQ) today (02014.01.10) at $0.83. Just a few days ago VTEQ was a $2 stock. Back on 22 October 02013 VeriTeQ (formerly Digital Angel [DIGA]) executed a 1:30 (reverse) stock split.

Sold Some American Airlines at 9 $Pi ($28.27)

I sold some American Airlines (AAL) yesterday (02014.01.09) at 9 $Pi ($28.27). The sold shares were purchased during June of 02008 when they were US Airways (LCC) shares.

Will MACE Ever Become a Non-Penny Stock w/o Using a Reverse Stock Split?

Mace Security Intl. (MACE) closed yesterday (02014.01.09) at $0.45, up 7+% on average trading volume. 52-week range: $0.23 - $0.59. Yesterday's move can easily be erased today, but Mace issued a couple of press releases near the end of 02013 that I thought considered somewhat positive (i.e. good news). The press release headlines were: "Security Partnership Inspired By Thriller Film 'Minority Report'" PR Newswire(Mon, Dec 30) and "Bears Confront People In Search For Food: Consumers Turn To Mace® Animal Repellent" PR Newswire(Mon, Dec 23).

Tuesday, January 7, 2014

Sold Some Geeknet (GKNT) at 6 $Pi ($18.87)

Geeknet (GKNT) spiked to $19.30 at the open today (02014.01.07) and that caused a sell order at 6 $Pi ($18.87) to be transacted. The holiday season is an important time of the year for ThinkGeek and I'm bothered that Geeknet did not issue a press release detailing how their holiday season went. I have placed a similarly sized sell order at 7 $Pi ($21.99).

Monday, January 6, 2014

Aastrom Biosciences (ASTM) and StemCells (STEM) Start 02014 Off Well

On the last day of 02013 I added to our Aastrom Biosciences (ASTM) and StemCells (STEM) holdings. ASTM and STEM had a difficult 02013, so I thought there was a chance these two stocks would rebound in 02014.

Today (02014.01.06) Zacks Equity Research rated ASTM a "strong buy". ASTM is up almost 18% since the end of 02013.

Today (02014.01.06) StemCells Inc. posted a "Letter to Shareholders". The following is the first paragraph from the letter.

Every day, the news media brings us word of some new advancement in the development of stem cell therapies. While you clearly comprehend the vast potential of stem cell therapeutics to transform the practice of medicine, it can be understandably difficult to assess which companies to bank on amidst so much hoopla and hyperbole. As CEO, one of my easiest and most gratifying jobs is to report our persistent progress to you — real evidence that StemCells, Inc. continues to be a clear frontrunner.

The second paragraph started with the following sentence.

What is more difficult is trying to understand our Company's stock performance for the year just ended.

STEM is up almost 12% since the end of 02013.

Wednesday, January 1, 2014

GDT::Portfolio At the End of 02013

The top ten GDT::Portfolio stocks based upon business: #1 Informatics; #2 supercomputing/big data; #3 robotics; #4 genomics; #5 geeky e-commerce; #6 open source system software; #7 commercial airline; #8 scientific instrumentation; #9 Informatics; #10 Informatics (social networking). In a nutshell, I feel as though the GDT::Portfolio is nicely invested in the future.

Bought Some More Aastrom Biosciences (ASTM) and StemCells (STEM)

On the last day of 02013 (i.e. yesterday, 02013.12.31) I added to our Aastrom Biosciences (ASTM) and StemCells (STEM). The ASTM purchase was made at $3.21 and the STEM buy was at $1.28. These two stocks had a terrible 02013, so I guess I'm hoping 02014 will move us closer to our stem cell future.