Friday, June 29, 2012

2Q'12 Ends Today

2Q'12 ends today (02012.06.29) and I'm looking forward to reviewing the GDT::Portfolio over the weekend. I'll make a few observations now.

I'm disappointed that Nanosphere (NSPH) didn't make a new 52-week high yesterday (02012.06.28), but I was glad to see the stock hold onto recent gains on heavy volume.

It's nice to see Stewart Enterprises (STEI) above $7. Right now (7:04am MST on 02012.06.29) STEI is at $7.07. 52-week range: $4.92 - $7.88.

Hanger (HGR) is less that 2% from a new 52-week high.

Cray (CRAY) hit a new 52-week high of $12.24 today (02012.06.29). My order to sell some CRAY at $12.57 is still in the system.

Thursday, June 28, 2012

I Like New 52-Week Highs, But...

There are some stocks in the GDT::Portfolio that are approaching new 52-week highs. I like new 52-week highs. The problem is that some of these new 52-week highs are approaching only because the existing 52-week highs are decreasing while prices are staying flat.

Let's use iParty (IPT) as an example. In one month, IPT's 52-week will drop from $0.28 to ~$0.20. Right now (7:00am MST on 02012.06.28) IPT is at $0.22.

Wednesday, June 27, 2012

Nanosphere Pops

Nanosphere (NSPH) issued a press today (02012.06.27) titled "Nanosphere Receives FDA Authorization to Market Its Gram-Positive Blood Culture Test". I can't even begin to explain what a "gram-positive blood culture test" is used for, but I do know that investors like the news. At 12:43pm EDT NSPH is at $2.34, up 22.4% for the day. Volume is 1.7 million with three hours left before the market closes. Trailing-3-month average volume has been 0.22 million. NSPH 52-week range: $0.89 - $2.41.

[update::02012.06.28] NSPH closed yesterday (02012.06.27) at $2.32. Intra-day high of $2.55 was also a new 52-week high. Volume was 3.88 million compared to a trailing-3-month average volume of 0.22 million.

Thursday, June 21, 2012

Axion Power Intl.: Added to Our AXPW Holdings

The title of this posting was used on a posting from 16 May 02012.

Today (02012.06.21) I added to our Axion holdings by buying AXPW shares at $0.35. One month ago I bought some AXPW at $0.39.

Our AXPW holdings are undewater, but they are little less underwater given today's purchase.

Wednesday, June 20, 2012

Red Hat Reports 1Q'13 Results

Red Hat (RHT) reported 1Q'13 results after the market closed on 02012.06.20. The following was copied from my Yahoo! Finance screen prior to me looking at the 1Q'13 results.
$56.50 Down $0.42 (down 0.74%) 4:00PM EDT
After Hours: $50.00 Down $6.50 (down 11.50%) 4:31PM EDT

Needless to say, without looking at the 1Q'13 results, it appears as though Red Hat did not exceed exceeded expectations.

My observations about 1Q'13 results...

"Operating cash flow was $124.4 million for the first quarter, as compared to $90.2 million in the year ago quarter."

"Total cash, cash equivalents and investments as of May 31, 2012 was $1.3 billion after repurchasing approximately $30 million, or approximately 550,000 shares, of common stock in the first quarter."

Red Hat believes FY 02013 has gotten off to a good start and I agree.

RHT closed today (02012.06.20) at $56.60. 52-week range: $31.77 - $62.75.

CRAY Hits New 52-Week High

Cray (CRAY) made a new 52-week high of $12.00 yesterday (02012.06.19) before closing at $11.84. I am hoping to see another 52-week high today, but as of 8:40am MST it hasn't happened (intra-day high as been $11.99).

Historically, CRAY's all-time high (I think) was on 2 September 01997 when it hit ~$72.76. CRAY's most recent high was ~$55.96 on 10 September 02003. Five years later, 12 November 02008, it reached its all-time low of $1.15.

[update::02012.06.20] CRAY made a new 52-week high of $12.12 today before closing at $11.92.

Tuesday, June 19, 2012

Geeknet: Insiders Bought This Month (June)

Geeknet (GKNT) had some insider buying earlier this [June] month.

http://www.nasdaq.com/symbol/gknt/insider-trades

Hmm... I guess it may be possible insiders are planning on taking this company private.

GKNT closed yesterday at $18.00. 52-week range: $12.07 - $27.85.

Rewind to 27 May 02012... Geeknet (GKNT) had some insider buying this [May] 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.

Monday, June 18, 2012

Cray Gets a 'Buy' Rating

Okay... I've seen this multiple times today (02012.06.18), so I might as well comment.
Cray (NASDAQ:CRAY): Needham reiterated its rating of Buy for this company and changed its price target from $12 to $14.

CRAY closed Friday (02012.06.15) at $11.54. 52-week range: $4.96 - $11.87.

I'd like to see CRAY at $14 because I have an order to sell some CRAY at $12.57 ($4 Pi).

Yahoo!; Google; Mace Security

Yahoo! (YHOO)... I might have to stop using Yahoo! in order to sell our YHOO holdings. I believe the stock is currently undervalued at $15.whatever, so I remained convinced it will appreciate in value the moment our 'sell' order is executed.

Google (GOOG)... The company needs to do something to get GOOG shares moving upward. I continue to believe Google has a bloated workforce, so I'd like to see the company reduce the number of Googlers it has on the payroll.

Mace (MACE)... MACE showed signs of life on Friday (02012.06.15) when it closed at $0.25 on heavy volume, but today (02012.06.18) the stock is down a couple pennies.

A popular acronym these days... PIGS (Portugal, Ireland, Greece, Spain).

Friday, June 15, 2012

Stewart Enterprises is Not Dead Yet

Stewart Enterprises (STEI) reported 2Q'12 results over a week ago on 02012.06.07. I missed the press release, but today (02012.06.15) I noticed the STEI SIR (Short Interest Ratio) was at 34 and that prompted me to look for "news." The following was copied from the 2Q'12 press release.
"For the second quarter of 2012, we generated the highest quarterly revenue, gross profit and adjusted earnings per share in four years."
Sounds good to me! I also liked the following highlight from 2Q'12: "operating and free cash flow of $20.7 million and $16.8 million, respectively."

The 2Q'12 press release ended with the following.

"Over the last two and a half years, the Board has increased our dividend by 60 percent, which reflects its commitment to returning capital to our shareholders through the payment of dividends and its continued confidence in the Company's financial condition and our ability to consistently generate cash flow."

I guess many investors do not believe Stewart Enterprises can sustain this performance.

STEI closed yesterday (02012.06.14) at $6.67. 52-week range: $4.92 - $7.88. Current SIR is 34.8.

Monday, June 11, 2012

Nanosphere; Cray, Aastrom Biosciences; Hanger

I took a few days off from following the stock markets last week, so today this morning I am looking to see how the GDT::Portfolio did last week. Here are a couple of items that caught my attention.

[item] Top Buys by Directors: Slezak's $289.2K Bet on NSPH - Forbes http://onforb.es/LujBkb via @sharethis

Nanosphere (NSPH) closed Friday, 02012.06.08, at $1.97 putting NSPH at #10 in the GDT::Portfolio.

[item] Cray (CRAY) hit a new 52-week high of $11.50 on Friday, 02012.06.08.

[item] Aastrom Biosciences (ASTM) continues to report what I think is good news. From Wednesday, 02012.06.08: Ixmyelocel-T Shown to Protect Heart From Damage in Murine Model of Heart Failure - Yahoo! Finance http://finance.yahoo.com/news/ixmyelocel-t-shown-protect-heart-220000784.html via @YahooFinance

Aastrom Biosciences (ASTM) closed Friday, 02012.06.08, at $2.26. One week earlier it closed at $1.96.

[item] Hanger (HGR) shareholders approved the company changing its name from Hanger Orthopedics to Hanger Inc.

Monday, June 4, 2012

LookSmart To Buyback LOOK Shares

LookSmart (LOOK) announced last week (on 02012.05.31) that it's allocated $1 million to buy LOOK shares. On the day of the announcement LOOK spiked from $0.81 to $0.90 before closing at $0.83. LOOK ended last week (02012.06.01) at $0.85. At this price the company could buy ~1.18 million LOOK shares, which would be ~6.8% of the total number of LOOK shares outstanding. Insider ownership is ~17%; therefore, 1.18 million LOOK shares is ~12.2% of the float. 52-week range: $0.53 - $1.90.

Saturday, June 2, 2012

iRobot Hits New 52-Week Low

iRobot (IRBT) hit a new 52-week low of $19.46 yesterday (02012.06.01) on heavy volume. IRBT closed at $19.83. 52-week range: $19.46 - $38.33. IRBT under $20 is a bummer for the GDT::Portfolio. The SIR (Short Interest Ratio) in IRBT is still high at 10.1.

Speaking of yesterday... uglier than ugly. DJIA down 2.22%; NASDAQ down 2.82%; S&P 500 down 2.46%.