Tuesday, December 30, 2014

Bought Some More Twitter (TWTR) at $35.75

Twitter (TWTR) lost 3.14% of its market value yesterday (02014.12.29). It was down another 2% today (02014.12.30), so I bought some more TWTR at $35.75 (no $Pi moment). TWTR 52-week range: $29.51 - $70.43.

Sold Some American Airlines (AAL) at 17 $Pi ($53.41)

American Airlines (AAL) has been making new 52-week highs and today (02014.12.30) I sold some AAL at 17 $Pi ($53.41).

Wednesday, December 24, 2014

Bought Some More Axion Power Intl. (AXPW) at $1.10

Axion Power Intl. (AXPW) is once again a penny stock. At 8:44am MST on 02014.12.24 its at $0.97. A couple of days ago I added to our AXPW holdings buying at $1.10. Once again my timing really sucked.

Two weeks ago the company issued a letter to shareholders and the last paragraph started as follows.

We believe that the current stock price and market valuation of Axion Power is significantly lower than it would be if the market were taking into account the inherent worth of our technology. We believe that our stock is undervalued based on the technology's potential to save money for our customers in the transportation space by increasing gas mileage and reducing emissions. In the energy storage space, using PbC batteries to decrease payback time for solar photovoltaic farms and other renewable energy projects.

Bought Some More Crexendo (EXE) at $1.20

Crexendo (EXE) spiked to a new 52-week low of $1.10 this morning (02014.12.24). The company, which is being delisted from the NYSE, issued a press release that stated the following.
Chairman of the Board of Directors and Chief Executive Officer, Steven G. Mihaylo (through a trust) agreed to purchase 1,449,275 shares of Common Stock at a price per share of $1.38 for a total of $2,000,000.00. The agreement which was signed today is expected to be financed by December 27, 2014. In addition, Mr. Mihaylo has been granted 500,000 warrants to purchase common stock of the Company; the warrants have a five year term and a strike price of $1.38 per share. Mr. Mihaylo has agreed that for a period of two years from the date of the Sale Agreement, the Company may require him to exercise the warrants if the Company determines the exercise of the warrants is necessary for the cash needs of the Company.

I understand the issuance of stock is dilutive, but I like it when a CEO has confidence in the future of his company.

Friday, December 19, 2014

Sold Some Red Hat (RHT) [The Case of the Accidental Quadruple]

I sold some Red Hat (RHT) today (02014.12.19) at $67.48, which enables me to add The Case of the Accidental Quadruple to my collection of Red Hat stories. Coincidentally, the quadrupled shares were bought eleven years ago to the day (i.e. on 02003.12.19). If I had been thinking I would have rounded the quadruple price up to the nearest increment of $Pi ($69.11). Next target price will be The Case of the Accidental Quintuple (i.e. $84.35).

Thursday, December 18, 2014

Red Hat (RHT) -- Could The Accidental Quadruple Happen Tomorrow?

Red Hat (RHT) closed at $61.50 today (02014.12.18) up 3.4% prior the company reporting 3Q'15 results after the market closed. Right now (3:17pm MST) RHT is at $68.15 in after hours trading, so I guess 3Q'15 results were good. Our accidental quadruple price is $67.48, so it's possible I'll sell some RHT tomorrow (02014.12.19).

Wednesday, December 17, 2014

Google (GOOG/GOOGL) Hits New 52-Week Low

Google (GOOG) hit a new 52-week low of $489.00 before closing yesterday (02014.12.16) at $495.39 (i.e. below $500).

Google (GOOGL) hit a new 52-week low of $497.19 before closing yesterday (02014.12.16) at $498.16 (i.e. below $500).

The GDT::Portfolio is heading in the wrong direction these days (i.e. it's approaching $0).

Wednesday, November 19, 2014

Geeknet (GKNT) Stinks Like a Pig Pen

Geeknet (GKNT) hit a new 52-week low yesterday (02014.11.18) of $8.77 before closing at $8.78. GKNT is an important stock for the GDT::Portfolio, yet it has been a terrible investment. I am at a loss as to why the company doesn't do stuff to promote itself and its stock. At some point and time I might be tempted to add to the GKNT holdings, but why toss more $$$ into the toilet? P.S. If I sound annoyed, that's because I am.

Tuesday, November 11, 2014

Sold Some American Airlines (AAL) at 14 $Pi ($43.98)

American Airlines (AAL) is near a new 52-week high and that meant I sold some AAL at 14 $Pi ($43.98). AAL has been a great investment for the GDT::Portfolio.

Bought Some More Axion Power Intl. (AXPW) at $1.43

Axion Power International (AXPW) executed a 1:50 stock split back on 8 Sep 02014. I added to our AXPW holdings five days ago at $1.43. AXPW closed yesterday (02014.11.10) at $1.75. 52-week range: $1.24 - $11.50. This morning Axion Power announced it had hired a new CFO.

Thursday, November 6, 2014

Spire (SPIR) -- Is It Going Belly-Up?

Spire (SPIR) is an important stock for the GDT::Portfolio. SPIR has recently bounced off of it's 52-week low and I think it's because of a couple of recent press releases. The first had to do with the company raising some cash.
Over the term of the transactions described herein, Spire expects to achieve an approximate $5 million cash benefit, all of which, if achieved, can be used to support ongoing operations and grow the business.
There are approximately 9.21 million SPIR shares, $5 million is roughly $0.54 per SPIR share. SPIR closed yesterday (02014.11.05) at $0.41.

On 02014.10.31, Spire had a press release titled Spire Receives Prestigious Solar Power World Award for Leadership in Solar. In that press release Spire stated the following:

Based upon our recent activities, revenues recognized to date and expected shipments, for the remainder of 2014 we anticipate a doubling of our 2013 solar business volume and coupled with the increased level of client inquiries, we certainly feel that the forecasted demand for turnkey lines has now materialized and will extend into 2015.

SPIR closed on 02014.11.05 at $0.41. 52-week range: $0.20 - 1.17. The stock is priced as if Spire is going out of business any day now. At its current price SPIR has a Price-Sales-Ratio of 0.23 and a market value of only $3.73 million.

Wednesday, November 5, 2014

Sold Some Yahoo! (YHOO) at 15 $Pi ($47.12)

Yahoo! (YHOO) hit a new 52-week high of $47.13 yesterday (02014.11.04) before closing at $47.08. The jump caused us to sell some YHOO at 15 $Pi ($47.12). A few days ago I sold some YHOO at 14 $Pi. I currently have no plans on selling any more YHOO, but plans are made to be broken. YHOO ended yesterday at #10 in the GDT::Portfolio.

Tuesday, November 4, 2014

Level 3 Communications (LVLT) Gets a 'Buy' Recommendation

Level 3 Communications (LVLT) was "upgraded to 'buy' from 'neutral' at Citigroup today (02014.11.04). LVLT closed yesterday (02014.11.03) at $46.67. 52-week range: $28.58 - $49.22.

LVLT is an Internet-pipe investment for us. Late last month LVLT was added to the S&P 500. LVLT started today at #16 in the GDT::Portfolio. Unless personal finances dictate otherwise, I have no plans on selling any LVLT.

Monday, November 3, 2014

Twitter (TWTR) Gets an 'Equal-Weight' Rating

Twitter (TWTR) is still struggling after reporting 3Q'14 results. Today (02014.02.03) "Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on shares of Twitter Inc. with an Equal-weight rating and $42 price target." A price target of $42 leaves our TWTR investment slightly underwater. My TWTR price target is $87.96.

TWTR closed on Friday, 02014.10.31, at $41.47. 52-week range: $29.51 - $74.73.

Wednesday, October 29, 2014

Twitter (TWTR) Reports 3Q'14 Results (and TWTR tanks)

Stocks::Stuffer posting on 5 February 02014: Twitter (TWTR) Reports 4Q'13 Results (Tanks in After Hours Trading).

Fast forward to yesterday (02014.10.28)...

Twitter (TWTR) lost almost 10% of its market value yesterday (02014.10.28) after reporting 3Q'14 results. In a nutshell: Twitter met expectations, but said next quarter is going to be a tough one. TWTR closed yesterday at $43.78 leaving our investment only slightly above water. 52-week range: $29.51 - $74.73.

Sold Some Cray (CRAY) at 10 $Pi ($31.42)

Cray (CRAY) was up almost 9% yesterday (02014.10.28) closing at $32.26. I sold some CRAY at 10 $Pi ($31.42). The sale took place prior to Cray reporting 3Q'14 results after the market closed yesterday. Cray's 3Q'14 results looked good to me, but the company's press release seemed somewhat blah.

Tuesday, October 28, 2014

Sold Some Yahoo! (YHOO) at 14 $Pi ($43.98)

Yahoo! (YHOO) hit a new 52-week high of $44.82 yesterday (02014.10.27) before closing at $44.70. The jump caused us to sell some YHOO at 14 $Pi ($43.98). I'll sell some more YHOO at 15 $Pi ($47.12).

Monday, October 27, 2014

GDT::Portfolio Update After a 50 Day Hiatus

It's been almost fifty days since our last posting. I was going to kill off this blog, but I can't.

GDT::Portfolio update... Illumina (ILMN; genomics) is #1 followed by Google (GOOG/GOOGL; informatics), Cray (CRAY; supercomputing), Facebook (FB; informatics), and iRobot (IRBT; robotics).

Nanosphere (NSPH; molecular diagnostics) tanked and this has been bad news for the GDT::Portfolio. Right now NSPH is at #21 (it should be at #10 or higher).

Geeknet (GKNT; e-commerce) is at #10. Our GKNT investment is currently underwater.

Twitter (TWTR; informatics) is at #11. Twitter Inc. reports 3Q'14 results today (02014.10.27) when the markets close.

Wednesday, September 10, 2014

Twitter (TWTR) Upgraded to 'Buy' by UBS

Twitter (TWTR) got upgraded to 'Buy' by UBS today (02014.09.10). UBS initiated coverage on TWTR on 02013.11.13 at 'Neutral'; downgraded it to 'Sell' on 02014.02.06; and upgraded it to 'Neutral' on 02014.07.30.

TWTR closed yesterday (02014.09.09) at $50.61. 52-week range: $29.51 - $74.73.

Monday, September 8, 2014

Sold Some Yahoo! (YHOO) at 13 $Pi ($40.84)

Yahoo! (YHOO) made a new 52-week high of $41.82 today (02014.09.08) and I sold some at 13 $Pi ($40.84). Alibaba is getting close to going public.

Thursday, August 28, 2014

Yahoo! (YHOO) Gets a Raised Price Target

Yahoo! (YHOO) news on 02014.08.28: Bank of America-Merrill Lynch raised its price target for Yahoo! (YHOO_) to $40 from $39 Thursday, reiterating its "buy" rating. Wow! Target price increased by a whole buck.

YHOO closed yesterday (02014.08.27) at $38.18. 52-week range: $26.82 - $41.72.

Wednesday, August 27, 2014

Bruker (BRKR) Gets a 'Downgrade'

Bruker (BRKR) got downgraded from 'Sell' to 'Strong Sell' by Zacks Investment Research yesterday (02014.08.26). I have no plans on selling any of our BRKR shares even though the company did lower current year guidance when they released 2Q'14 results earlier this month. BRKR closed yesterday (02014.08.26) at $20.25. 52-week range: $17.75 - $24.93.

Tuesday, August 26, 2014

Cray (CRAY) Gets a 'Buy' Recommendation

Cray (CRAY) got a 'Buy' recommendation by a research firm this morning (02014.08.26). CRAY closed yesterday (02014.08.25) at $27.81. 52-week range: $21.30 - $42.09.

Wednesday, August 20, 2014

Red Hat (RHT) Hits a New 52-Week High

Red Hat (RHT) hit a new 52-week high of $62.69 yesterday (02014.08.19). RHT moving about $60 has me thinking about eventually realizing the accidental quadruple (i.e. $67.48). I'll probably jinx this, but I placed a good-till-cancel order to sell some RHT at $67.48.

Tuesday, August 19, 2014

Google (GOOG) Went Public 10 Years Ago

Google (GOOG) (GOOGL) went public one decade ago today on 19 August 02004. GOOG's IPO price was $85. Since going public GOOG did execute a 2:1 stock split making the IPO price $42.50. GOOG and GOOGL closed yesterday (02014.08.18) at $582.16 and $592.70, respectively.

Geeknet (GKNT) Approaching a New 52-Week Low

Geeknet (GKNT) looks like it's going to make a new 52-week low today (02014.08.19). Six days ago the company issued a press release titled ThinkGeek Celebrates 15 Years of Being Awesome. GKNT shares have been the opposite of awesome. I noticed that two weeks ago Director Kenneth Langone bought 2161 shares in the $12.09 - $12.25 price range.

GKNT closed yesterday (02014.08.18) at $11.51. 52-week range: $11.36 - $20.00.

Thursday, August 7, 2014

Bought Some More Nanosphere (NSPH)

Nanosphere (NSPH) reported 2Q'14 results after the market closed yesterday (02014.08.06). Today, NSPH crashed and become a penny stock. This news did not set well with Wall Street.
"However, our instrument sales fell well short of expectations due to timing of hospital capital budgets and a continued lengthy customer implementation process; therefore, we are lowering guidance to reflect this pace of instrument sales and its associated impact on consumable and total revenue."

NSPH closed yesterday at $1.42. Today it opened at $0.93 and I bought some NSPH at $0.97.

Wednesday, August 6, 2014

Trimble Navigation (TRMB) Reports 2Q'14 Results (Solid Quarter)

Trimble Navigation (TRMB) reported 2Q'14 results after they market closed yesterday (02014.08.05) and the company had a solid quarter.
"The results for the second quarter reflect record revenue and margin performance," said Steven W. Berglund, Trimble's president and chief executive officer. "Almost all of the revenue growth was organic, which reflects generally improved market conditions outside of agriculture. Although we currently anticipate agriculture to remain a challenging market through the rest of the year, we expect our other markets will more than offset that effect. The construction industry, in particular, is accelerating adoption of our technology as the benefits become better understood."

Two additional items from Trimble's 2Q'14 press release.

1. Operating cash flow in the quarter was $131.2 million. Year-to-date operating cash flow was $214.6 million, an increase of 25 percent over the prior year.

2. Subsequent to the end of the second quarter, Trimble repurchased shares pursuant to a Rule 10b-5(1) plan under its open $100 million authorization. As of close of trading August 4, the company has repurchased approximately 1.37 million shares for a total amount of $43.2 million.

TRMB closed yesterday (02014.08.05) at $31.23. 52-week range: $24.90 - $40.17.

Hanger (HGR) Reschedules 2Q'14 Earnings Release

Hanger (HGR) was supposed to have reported 2Q'14 results after the market closed yesterday (02014.08.05), but they delayed the reporting for two days. Today (02014.08.06), HGR dropped to $29.80 after closing yesterday at $31.75.
"The Company is postponing its earnings release to allow additional time for the completion and review of accounting for its cost of materials estimate, which is an area of focus for remediation of a material weakness previously reported." -- Hanger press release

HGR right now (6:56am MST) is at $30.40. Previous close $31.75. 52-week range: $28.47 - $40.71.

Friday, August 1, 2014

Geeknet (GKNT) Reports 2Q'14 Results (Crash To New 52-Week Low)

Geeknet (GKNT) reported 2Q'14 results prior to the market opening today (02014.08.01). GKNT promptly crashed to a new 52-week low of $11.75. Previous close: $12.55.

Also today (02014.08.01), Geeknet announced it had acquired Treehouse Brand Stores.

Miscellaneous tidbit mined from the press release...

"To celebrate our fifteenth anniversary, but more importantly to improve the customer experience, ThinkGeek has launched a major brand refresh campaign including the redesign of our web site," said Katy McCarthy, Chief Executive Officer.

Wednesday, July 30, 2014

Cray (CRAY) Reports 2Q'14 Results (Spike Up, Spike Down)

Cray (CRAY) had a gap open at $30.00 today (02014.07.30) after a previous close of $29.01. Spiked to an early intra-day high of $31.35 before falling to an early intra-day low of $27.79.
"Over the last few months we've been on an incredible run of customer wins in both the U.S. and around the world," said Peter Ungaro, president and CEO of Cray. "These awards, some of them multi-year in nature, reaffirm our belief that we're in a great position to continue to grow, not only in 2014 but also over the coming years. Our products are competitively strong, with each of our development roadmaps being driven by the continuing convergence of supercomputing and big data we're seeing in the market. We believe we're in a great position to capitalize on this exciting market evolution and to continue to build on our market leadership."

Why is CRAY a GDT::Portfolio stock? It's because of the continuing convergence of supercomputing and big data.

Twitter (TWTR) Reports 2Q'14 Results (TWTR Gap Open)

Twitter (TWTR) spiked this morning (02014.07.30) to $47.61 after the company announced 2Q'14 results. Previous close: $38.59. Twitter turned a profit of two cents per share during 2Q'14. TWTR 52-week range: $29.51 - $74.73.

Tuesday, July 29, 2014

Level 3 Communications (LVLT) Reports 2Q'14 Results (Hits New 52-Week High)

Level 3 Communications (LVLT) spiked to a new 52-week high today (02014.07.29) of $49.22 after the company reported 2Q'14 results.
"Level 3 delivered another quarter of solid revenue and Adjusted EBITDA growth," said Jeff Storey, president and CEO of Level 3. "Our ability to help enterprise customers solve their evolving, global telecommunications needs is a key differentiator in the industry. During the second quarter, we also indicated our intent to acquire tw telecom and the integration planning process is well underway."

LVLT closed yesterday (02014.07.28) at $44.91.

Sunday, July 27, 2014

Amazon.com (AMZN) Reports 2Q'14 Results

Amazon.com (AMZN) lost almost 10% of its market value on Friday (02014.07.25). The company announced they're going to lose between $410 million and $810 million this quarter (3Q'14). Amazon.com is managed for the long-term, while on Wall Street three months is frequently considered an eternity.

Amazon.com's 2Q'14 press release started with the following.

Operating cash flow increased 18% to $5.33 billion for the trailing twelve months, compared with $4.53 billion for the trailing twelve months ended June 30, 2013. Free cash flow increased to $1.04 billion for the trailing twelve months, compared with $265 million for the trailing twelve months ended June 30, 2013. Free cash flow for the trailing twelve months ended June 30, 2013, includes cash outflows for purchases of corporate office space and property in Seattle, Washington, of $1.4 billion.

AMZN closed at $324.01 on 02014.07.25. 52-week range: $279.33 - $408.06.

Thursday, July 24, 2014

Illumina (ILMN) Reports 2Q'14 Results

Illumina (ILMN) reported 2Q'14 results after the market closed yesterday. The 2nd-quarter results prompted Illumina to "raise" Fiscal Year 2014 guidance. Nutshell: Illumina's 2Q'02014 free cash flow was $155 million. R&D expenses were $83 million. Illumina has ~$1.1 billion in the bank.
"We are witnessing tremendous interest in our products, which led to record financial results in the second quarter. With the most extensive sequencing portfolio available, we remain extremely well-positioned to develop and address the large and untapped market opportunities ahead of us." -- Jay Flatley, CEO.

FB closed yesterday (02014.07.23) at $180.64. 52-week range: $72.77 - $184.49. Note: The current 52-week high, which was hit on 2 July 02014, is also ILMN's all-time high.

Facebook (FB) Reports 2Q'14 Results

Facebook (FB) reported 2Q'14 results after the market closed yesterday. Nutshell: Facebook's 2Q'02014 free cash flow was $872 million and that was after capital expenditures of $469 million. Facebook's 2Q'02014 effective tax rate was a whopping 43%. Facebook has ~$14 billion in the bank.
"We had a good second quarter. Our community has continued to grow, and we see a lot of opportunity ahead as we connect the rest of the world." -- Mark Zuckerberg, Facebook founder and CEO. "

FB closed yesterday (02014.07.23) at $71.29. Pre-market trading today hints that FB might hit a new all-time high today (02014.07.24). 52-week range: $32.75 - $72.59. Note: The 52-week high, which was on 11 March 02014, is all-time high.

Tuesday, July 22, 2014

iRobot (IRBT) Reports 2Q'14 Results

iRobot (IRBT) reported 2Q'14 results today (02014.07.22) after the market closed. IRBT closed at $38.79. 52-week range: $28.90 - $48.36.

I thought iRobot had a solid 2Q'14, but IRBT is down almost 10% in early after market trading.

iRobot's press release started with: "I am pleased to report a successful second quarter, with results that met our expectations." Colin Angle, Chairman and CEO of iRobot.

NeuroMetrix (NURO) Celebrates 10 Years On the NASDAQ

NeuroMetrix (NURO) issued a press release today (02014.07.22) titled: NeuroMetrix Marks 10th Year Anniversary of Listing on NASDAQ.

Quoting the company's President & CEO Shai Gozani:

Our NASDAQ listing has been an important factor in our access to capital markets and has provided orderly trading in our stock for investors. We are very pleased with our long association with NASDAQ.

NURO closed yesterday (02014.07.21) at $2.02.

According this graph NURO has decreased by 99.3% in ten years.

Monday, July 21, 2014

Facebook (FB) Within 5% of Its All-Time High

Facebook (FB) was less that 5% from a new 52-week/all-time high earlier today (02014.07.21 at 12:09pm EST). Right FB is at $69.23. 52-week range: $25.72 - $72.59. FB is 169% above its 52-week low.

Friday, July 18, 2014

Google (GOOG) (GOOGL) Reports 2Q'14 Results

Google (GOOG) (GOOGL) reported 2Q'14 results after the market closed on 02014.07.17.

Free cash flow was $2.98 billion.

Capital expenditures were $2.65 billion.

Cash at the end of 2Q'14 was $61.20 billion.

"On a worldwide basis, we employed 52,069 full-time employees (48,584 in Google and 3,485 in Motorola Mobile) as of June 30, 2014, compared to 49,829 full-time employees (46,170 in Google and 3,659 in Motorola Mobile) as of March 31, 2014."

GOOG closed on 02014.07.17 at $573.73. 52-week range: $502.80 - $604.83. GOOGL closed on 02014.07.17 at $580.82. 52-week range: $421.91 - $615.05.

I've been tracking Google's quarterly results since 4Q'08.

Thursday, July 17, 2014

Bought Some More StemCells (STEM) at $1.69

Bought some more StemCells (STEM) today (02014.07.17) at $1.69. The company is making progress, but it's costing the company a lot of money to make the progress.

Tuesday, July 15, 2014

Yahoo! (YHOO) Reports 2Q'14 (Yahoo! Unhappy With Revenues)

Yahoo! (YHOO) reported 2Q'14 results after the market closed today. CEO Marissa Mayer started the press release with the following sentence: "Our top priority is revenue growth and by that measure, we are not satisfied with our Q2 results."

Two items from the 2Q'14 press release.

"Cash, cash equivalents, and investments in marketable securities were $4.3 billion as of June 30, 2014 compared to $5 billion as of December 31, 2013, a decrease of $0.7 billion."

"During the second quarter of 2014, Yahoo repurchased approximately 21 million shares for $719 million."

I liked the following paragraph from the 2Q'14 press release.

"We are pleased to announce today that we have entered into an amendment to the share repurchase agreement with Alibaba, reducing the number of shares that Yahoo is required to sell at the IPO from 208 million shares to 140 million shares. In addition, we are aware that there has been much discussion around the allocation of the Alibaba IPO proceeds. We would like to take this opportunity to let our investors know that we are committed to return at least half of the after-tax IPO proceeds to shareholders, in line with our overarching commitment to maximizing shareholder value through prudent capital allocation."

YHOO closed today (02014.07.15) at $35.61. 52-week range: $26.73 - $41.72.

Monday, July 14, 2014

2Q'14 Results Are Coming

Some of the GDT::Portfolio companies are going to start reporting 2Q'14 results this week. Given current market conditions, this is a dangerous time for companies to not "exceed expectations." And for some stocks, this is a dangerous time for companies not to exceed the already exceeded expectations.

Thursday, July 10, 2014

Cray (CRAY) Awarded $174 Million Supercomputer Government Contract

It's been a crappy market ever since Americans stop celebrating our most recent birthday. The GDT::Portfolio is getting hit hard today (02014.07.10), but there has been one exception: CRAY. 30 minutes after the market opened today, Cray Inc. issued a press release titled: Cray Awarded $174 Million Supercomputer Contract From the National Nuclear Security Administration. CRAY closed yesterday (02014.07.09) at $27.22. CRAY spiked to $31.25 after the company posted its press release. Right now (10:05am EDT) CRAY is at $30.43. 52-week range: $20.87 - $42.09.

Tuesday, July 8, 2014

NeuroMetrix (NURO) Spikes Up

NeuroMetrix (NURO) closed yesterday (02014.07.07) at $1.89. Today it had a spike open at $2.84 and it continued up to $3.15 before falling to its current price of $2.64 at 10:04 EDT. Volume is already at 3.98 million vs. a full day average of 0.12 million. Prior to the market opening today (02014.07.08), the company issued a press release having the title: FDA Clears NeuroMetrix Wearable Technology for Over-the-Counter Use in Treatment of Chronic Pain.

Friday, July 4, 2014

DJIA Closes Above 17,000 on 3 July 02014

This posting is an observation to celebrate the DJIA closing about 17,000 for the first time in its 118 year history. The DJIA closed at 8,281.22 prior to Obama becoming the POTUS. Yesterday (5 years, 5 months, 13 days later) the DJIA closed at 17,068.26. I guess we can blame Bush for the Dow doubling.

Thursday, July 3, 2014

Sold Some StemCells (STEM) at $2.38

Sold some StemCells (STEM) today (02014.07.03) at $2.38. STEM spiked to a new 52-week high of $2.43 prior to the sale. This sale did not generate any Pi moment; however, I have placed an order to sell some more STEM at $Pi.

Wednesday, July 2, 2014

StemCells (STEM) Spikes Up... Why?

StemCells (STEM) spiked to its 52-week high of $2.35 this morning (02014.07.02). I don't know why, but Briefing.com did have a posting stating "Brinson Patrick initiated STEM coverage with 'Market Outperform' rating." Who is Brinson Patrick?

STEM closed yesterday (02014.07.01) at $2.00. It opened today at $2.19 and spiked to $2.35. Right now (7:35am MST) STEM is at $2.23. Volume is already 7.15 million vs. a full day average of 2.01 million.

Tuesday, July 1, 2014

Yahoo! (YHOO) Showing Signs of Life

Yahoo! (YHOO) has been a frustrating long-term investment for the GDT::Portfolio; however, YHOO has been showing some signs of life lately after a couple of investment firms turned moderately bullish on Yahoo!

YHOO closed yesterday (02014.06.30) at $35.15. Today it had a small gap open at $35.53. YHOO had an intra-day low of $33.02 just a few days earlier on 02014.06.26. 52-week range: $24.82 - $41.72.

YHOO ended 2Q'14 at #10 in the GDT::Portfolio.

Saturday, June 28, 2014

Nanosphere (NSPH) Deleted From the Russell 3000 Index?

Nanosphere (NSPH) spiked up on heavy volume just before the market close yesterday (02014.06.27). It appears as though the spike might have been related to the re-balancing of the Russell 3000 Index (I think NSPH was deleted).

NSPH closed yesterday (02014.06.27) at $1.65. Day range: $1.50 - $1.65. 52-week range: $1.20 - $3.53. Volume was 8.8 million vs. 1.1 million.

Thursday, June 26, 2014

Barclays Initiates Coverage on Internet Sector Stocks

I found this weird: "In Thursday's morning summary, the team at Barclays initiated coverage on a number of big players in the internet sector." WTFoo?!?!?! Barclays just got around to initiating coverage on Internet stocks? In a nutshell, Barclays see numerous GDT::Portfolio stocks (Google, Yahoo!, Twitter, Facebook, Amazon.com) trading at higher prices. Note: The GDT::Portfolio does not contain any eBay, LinkedIn, Netflix.

Wednesday, June 25, 2014

Nanosphere (NSPH) Appears to Be Reporting Good News

Nanosphere (NSPH) closed last week (Friday, 02014.06.20) at $1.37.

Monday (02014.06.23) press release title: "Nanosphere Signs Molecular Diagnostic Supply Agreement With HealthTrust". NSPH spiked to $1.78 before closing at $1.57. Volume: 8.2 million vs. 0.8 million.

Tuesday (yesterday; 02014.06.24) NSPH closed at $1.42, down ~10%. Volume: 2.1 million vs. 0.8 million. Press release title after the market closed yesterday: "Verigene(R) Enteric Pathogens Test Receives FDA Clearance".

Today (02014.06.25) NSPH right now (6:56am MST) is at $1.66, up ~17%. Volume is already at 2.8 million.

[update::02014.06.25] Today NSPH closed up 16% at $1.65. Intra-day high: $1.69. Volume: 7 million vs. 0.8 million. 52-week range: $1.20 - $3.60.

NeuroMetrix (NURO) is Making Progress in Japan

NeuroMetrix (NURO), a GDT::Portfolio bottom feeder, closed yesterday (02014.06.24) up 19% at $2.24 after hitting an intra-day high of $2.61. Volume was 3.3 million vs. trailing-3-month average of 0.1 million. [Note: There are ~6 million NURO shares with ~31% closely held.] Press release title: "NeuroMetrix Reports Japan Regulatory Approval for NC-stat DPNCheck".

This morning (02014.06.25), in pre-market trading, NURO is down almost 20%. Press release title: "NeuroMetrix Announces $8 Million Preferred Stock Placement".

Tuesday, June 24, 2014

Sold Some Google (GOOGL) at 180 $Pi ($365.49)

Sold some Google (GOOGL) at 180 $Pi last week Friday (02014.06.20). The sale was executed as part of a GDT::Portfolio adjustment.

Thursday, June 19, 2014

StemCells Inc.'s (STEM) Stem Cells Show Promise

StemCells (STEM) spiked to a new 52-week high of $2 shortly after the market opened today (02014.06.19). The company issued a press release titled: "StemCells, Inc. Interim Results Show Improvement in Visual Function and Slowing of Disease Progression in Phase I/II Dry AMD Trial".

STEM closed yesterday (02014.06.18) at $1.57. Right now (02014.06.19 at 10:15am EDT) STEM is at $1.86 after spiking to $2.00. Volume has been 9.15 million shares vs. a trailing-3-month daily average of 0.69 million.

Wednesday, June 18, 2014

Red Hat (RHT) Reports Solid 1Q'15 Results

Red Hat (RHT) reported 1Q'15 results after the market closed today (02014.06.18). In a nutshell: Red Hat--a world leader in Open Source Software--continues to grow. I liked Red Hat CEO Jim Whitehurst saying, "As evidence of this demand and Red Hat’s strong market position, we closed a record number of first quarter deals of a million dollars or more." I liked this tidbit from the 1Q'15 press release: "Total cash, cash equivalents and investments as of May 31, 2014 was $1.40 billion after repurchasing approximately $80 million, or approximately 1.6 million shares, of common stock in the first quarter."

RHT closed today (02014.06.18) at $53.10. 52-week range: $41.89 - $61.45.

Tuesday, June 17, 2014

StemCells (STEM) Hires More Senior Executives

StemCells (STEM) issue a press release this morning (02014.06.17) titled: "StemCells, Inc. Strengthens Senior Executive Team". The leadership moves included one promotion and three new appointments. The three new appointments have impressive resumes, so it's difficult to believe these three executives would jump aboard a sinking ship.

STEM closed yesterday (02014.06.16) at $1.54. 52-week range: $1.15 - $1.84.

Monday, June 16, 2014

Level 3 Communications (LVLT) To Buy TW Telecom

Level 3 Communications (LVLT) announced today (02014.06.16) that it's buying TW Telecom. The deal seems like a good one to me, but right now LVLT is down almost 5% on the news.

LVLT closed Friday (02014.06.13) at $44.09. Today's intra-day low (as of 7:46am MST): $41.35. 52-week range: $19.71 - $44.77. Note: LVLT almost spiked to a new 52-week high at the open, but the gain quickly evaporated.

Tuesday, June 10, 2014

NeuroMetrix (NURO)--Thin Float, High SIR

NeuroMetrix (NURO) has a been a crap investment for the GDT::Portfolio. The little company seems to be making progress, but it's been a slow go. On 02014.06.10 I noticed that NURO's SIR (short interest ratio) is as 12.8. ~31% of NURO is closely held leaving an approximate float of 5.2 million shares. NURO closed yesterday (02014.06.09) at $1.89. 52-week range: $1.47 - $4.25. The temptation to add some NURO to the GDT::Portfolio is strong, but I'll sell some NURO if it hits $Pi ($3.14).

Monday, June 9, 2014

Bought Some More Nanosphere (NSPH) at 0.42 $Pi ($1.32)

Added to our Nanosphere (NSPH) holdings today (02014.06.09) buying NSPH at 0.42 $Pi ($1.32). NSPH has been a terrible investment for the GDT::Portfolio, but I like Nanosphere's line of business. It's possible molecular diagnostic testing is a key tool when it comes to the health care in the future.

Note: With respect to determining the buy price, I multiplied Pi by 0.42 and I picked 42% of Pi because 42 is the "Answer to Life, the Universe, and Everything".

Insider Buying at Kratos Defense & Security Solutions (KTOS)

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. (KTOS) had some insider buying recorded last month. The buys were in the $7.19 to $7.29 range. One director of the company bought $1.44 million worth of stock. KTOS close yesterday (02014.06.08) at $8.80. 52-week range: $6.01 - $9.18.

Sold Some Illumina (ILMN) at 54 $Pi ($169.95)

Sold some Illumina (ILMN) today (02014.06.09) at 54 $Pi ($169.95). It would be nice to never sell another ILMN share, but I'm a realist and I know that's not being realistic. ILMN's all-time high is $183.30.

[update::02014.06.09] Headline seen this morning after our sale. "Illumina Is Up 140% In The Past Year, But Can It Illuminate Your Portfolio Going Forward?" at Seeking Alpha

Friday, June 6, 2014

American Airlines (AAL); Nanosphere (NSPH); Illumina (ILMN)

American Airlines (AAL) continues to make new 52-week highs and it has moved into 4th position in the GDT::Portfolio swapping spots with iRobot (IRBT).

Nanosphere (NSPH) is only few cents above its 52-week low. NSPH has fallen to #17 in the GDT::Portfolio and this really sucks. I am considering buying some more NSPH at $1.30.

Illumina (ILMN) was up almost 7% for the week ending today (02014.06.06) and it is currently at #2 in the GDT::Portfolio. I have an order to sell some ILMN at 54 $Pi ($169.65).

Tuesday, June 3, 2014

Cray (CRAY) Going Down, DOwn, DOWn, DOWN

Cray (CRAY) keeps falling toward its 52-week low. Right now (02014.06.03 at 9:16am MST), CRAY is down more than Pi% at $25.28. 52-week range: $18.04 - $42.09. On 21 March 02014 CRAY hit a new 52-week high of $42.09; therefore, in less than three month, CRAY has decrease ~40%. At is current price CRAY has a PSR (Price Sales Ratio) of 2.00, which I consider low for a company that is involved in supercomputing (HPC) and "big data."

Monday, June 2, 2014

Sold Some American Airlines (AAL) at 13 $Pi ($40.84)

American Airlines (AAL) has been making new 52-week highs, so I sold some AAL today (02014.06.02) at 13 $Pi ($40.84).

Sold Some iRobot (IRBT) at $35.27

Sold some iRobot (IRBT) today (02014.06.02) at $35.27. I remain bullish on IRBT, but needed to raise some cash.

Friday, May 30, 2014

GDT::Portfolio Lags While DJIA & S&P500 Make New Highs

Today (02014.05.30) the DJIA and S&P 500 closed a record highs of 16,717.17 and 1923.57, respectively. Sadly, the GDT::Portfolio isn't even coming to close to matching the performance of the DJIA and S&P 500. Only six of the 32 GDT::Portfolio stocks are less than 10% from their 52-week highs. Five GDT::Portfolio stocks are within 10% of new 52-week lows.

Wednesday, May 28, 2014

Stocks::Stuffer Lives

I like road tripping more than I do stocks, but it's stocks that help enable road tripping. A couple days ago I completed a 13-day, 4608 mile road trip from Tempe AZ to Chicago IL O'Hare Airport to Tempe AZ.

GDT::Portfolio underwent some modifications while I was road tripping and I will be getting caught up as to what happened.

Tuesday, May 6, 2014

Bought Some More Twitter (TWTR) at 11 $Pi ($34.56)

Twitter (TWTR) crashed this morning and I bought some more TWTR at 11 $Pi (34.56). Today is Tuesday and last week Wednesday I bought some more TWTR at 12 $Pi. In a nutshell, I'm not sure I want to add any more TWTR to the GDT::Portfolio, so it can hit bottom and start going up sooner rather than later.

Hanger (HGR) Crashes After Reporting 1Q'14 Results

Hanger (HGR) [formerly Hanger Orthopedics] is one of the oldest holdings in the GDT::Portfolio. Hanger reported 1Q'14 results yesterday (02014.05.05) after the market closed and today HGR is down almost 8% in the first few minutes of trading. It's possible HGR will make a new 52-week low today (02014.05.06). From the 1Q'14 press release.
"First quarter proved to be challenging for us on a variety of fronts, but our outlook on the core business remains very positive," commented Vinit Asar, President and Chief Executive Officer. "Like many companies, the harsh winter weather throughout the first quarter significantly impacted our sales and earnings.

Not the way you want to start a quarterly report.

And the following was reported.

"The Company lowered its 2014 full-year adjusted diluted EPS guidance [...] The Company has lowered its projected full year 2014 same center sales growth [...] The Company lowered 2014 full-year net sales guidance [...]"

HGR closed yesterday (02014.05.05) at $33.62. 52-week range: $30.10 - $40.71. HGR hit an intra-day low of $30.31 shortly after the market opened.

Thursday, May 1, 2014

Spikes... Level 3 Communications (LVLT), Cray (CRAY), Twitter (TWTR)

Level 3 Communications (LVLT) closed up 16% yesterday (02014.04.30) after reporting 1Q'14 results. LVLT closed at $43.03 after hitting a new 52-week high of $43.50. 52-week range: $19.71 - $43.50.

Cray (CRAY) closed down 11.5% yesterday (02014.04.30) after reporting 1Q'14 results. CRAY closed at $28.71. Intra-day low was $28.30. 52-week range: $16.20 - $42.09.

Twitter (TWTR) closed down 8.6% yesterday (02014.04.30) after reporting 1Q'14 results. TWTR closed at $38.97 after hitting a new 52-week low of $37.24. 52-week range: $37.24 - $74.73.

DJIA Has Record Close; S&P 500 Approaching New Record High

I was shocked to find out that the DJIA hit a new all-time high yesterday (02014.04.30). My focus is on the GDT::Portfolio and the entire collection of 32 stocks is well off their 52-week highs.

The S&P 500 all-time high is 1,897.28. Yesterday (02014.04.30) the S&P 500 closed at 1,883.95, so 1,900 is well within reach. Just like with the DJIA, the GDT::Portfolio sucks in comparison to what's happening with the S&P 500.

Wednesday, April 30, 2014

Bought Some More Twitter (TWTR) at 12 $Pi ($37.70)

Twitter (TWTR) reported 1Q'14 results after the market closed on 02014.04.29. TWTR opened down 11+% on 02014.04.30 and I bought some more TWTR at 12 $Pi ($37.70).

Tuesday, April 29, 2014

Twitter (TWTR) Reports 1Q'14 Results

Twitter (TWTR) reported 1Q'14 results after the market closed today (02014.04.29). In after market hours trading, TWTR is down almost 10%; therefore, it is easy to conclude investors are not happy with Twitter's progress. Twitter's CEO Dick Costolo said the following.
"We had a very strong first quarter. Revenue growth accelerated on a year over year basis fueled by increased engagement and user growth. We also continue to rapidly increase our reach and scale. With the integration of MoPub, we now reach more than 1 billion iOS and Android users each month, making us one of the largest in-app mobile ad exchanges in the world and the only one at scale to offer native in-app advertising."

Sounds great, but Wall Street doesn't seem to be overly impressed.

TWTR closed on 02014.04.29 at $42.62. 52-week range: $38.80 - $74.73.

Monday, April 28, 2014

Nanosphere (NSPH) Hits New 52-Week Low

Nanosphere (NSPH) made a new 52-week low today (02014.04.28) and that really sucks for the GDT::Portfolio. Nanosphere doesn't release 1Q'14 results until May 7th, so I don't think that is the reason for NSPH being some a bad investment. I placed a GTC order to buy some NSPH at 0.5 $Pi ($1.57).

Thursday, April 24, 2014

Facebook (FB) Reports 1Q'14 Results

Facebook (FB) reported 1Q'14 results after the market closed yesterday (02014.04.23). Mark Zuckerberg (CEO/Chairman) started the conference call with: "We continued to grow our community in size and engagement, with nearly 1.28 billion people now using Facebook each month and almost 63% visiting daily."

FB closed yesterday (02014.04.23) at $61.36. 52-week range: $22.67 - $72.59. In pre-market trading today (02014.04.24) FB is up almost 4%; however, quoting Facebook Chief Operating Officer Sheryl Sandberg concerning Instagram: "We're very focused on consumer growth, and we move slowly and deliberately in monetization. "We don't see the need or the urge to ramp this as quickly as we possibly can." Hmm... #slowly and #deliberately are not the favorite hashtags for some investors.

iRobot (IRBT) Crashes

iRobot (IRBT) lost 10.42% of its market value on 02014.04.23. Volume was 2.8 times the trailing 3-month-average. It appears as though Wall Street's short term investors and not happy with iRobot thinking long term. IRBT closed yesterday (02014.04.23) at $35.52. 52-week range: $27.75 - $48.36.

Stocks::Stuffer iRobot posting from three weeks ago 02014.04.03...

iRobot (IRBT), after the market closed on 02014.04.02, reported that they had allocated $50 million to buyback IRBT shares over the span of the next year. "The Board's authorization of a share repurchase program reflects our confidence in the health and long-term outlook of the company. With a strong balance sheet and cash flows, we believe we can take advantage of volatile market conditions to buy back our shares while maintaining the flexibility to make strategic investments in our future." -- Colin Angle, iRobot's chairman and CEO

Stocks::Stuffer iRobot posting from yesterday (02014.04.23)...

iRobot (IRBT) reported 1Q'14 results after the market closed yesterday (02014.04.22). I liked iRobot's start to 02014, but IRBT fell 4+% in after hours trading. My guess is Wall Street didn't like CEO Colin Angle saying, "Based on our Q1 results and our outlook for the rest of 2014, we are reaffirming our full-year financial expectations [...]". IRBT closed yesterday (02014.04.22) at $39.65. 52-week range: $26.30 - $48.36.

Wednesday, April 23, 2014

iRobot (IRBT) Reports 1Q'14 Results

iRobot (IRBT) reported 1Q'14 results after the market closed yesterday (02014.04.22). I liked iRobot's start to 02014, but IRBT fell 4+% in after hours trading. My guess is Wall Street didn't like CEO Colin Angle saying, "Based on our Q1 results and our outlook for the rest of 2014, we are reaffirming our full-year financial expectations [...]".

IRBT closed yesterday at $39.65. 52-week range: $26.30 - $48.36.

Tuesday, April 22, 2014

Illumina (ILMN) Reports 1Q'14 Results

Illumina (ILMN) reported 1Q'14 results after the market closed today (02014.04.22). I thought the company had a solid quarter.
Our first quarter results have set the stage for a strong 2014. We are experiencing an exciting uptake of our new products, including the NextSeq™ 500 and HiSeq X™ Ten, while demand for the overall product portfolio remains robust. We continue to innovate across the entire spectrum of the sequencing workflow to more broadly enable the adoption of genomics." -- Jay Flatley, CEO.

I particularly like the phrase entire spectrum when it comes to genomics.

Illumina's 1Q'14 press release ended with: "For fiscal 2014 the Company has increased projections [...]".

ILMN closed today (02014.04.22) at $141.21. 52-week range: $59.99 - $183.30. ILMN is up 10+% in after hours trading.

Monday, April 21, 2014

Aastrom Biosciences (ASTM) Grows By Acquisition

Aastrom Bioscience (ASTM) had to be halted this morning (02014.04.21) after the company announced it was acquiring Sanofi's Cell Therapy and Regenerative Medicine (CTRM) business for a purchase price of $6.5 million. From the press release:
Aastrom is acquiring global commercial rights to three marketed autologous cell therapy products. [...] Revenues of those three products were $44 million in 2013. Aastrom will also acquire global manufacturing and production centers located in the United States and Denmark.

Here's a quote from Aastrom's president/CEO: The acquisition of Sanofi's CTRM business is a transformative transaction that positions Aastrom as a fully-integrated global regenerative medicine company." -- Nick Colangelo

ASTM closed last Thursday (02014.04.17; market was closed on Friday) at $3.52. Today (02014.04.21) ASTM opened at $4.00 and spiked to $4.79. Right now (30 minutes into trading) ASTM is at $4.50, up ~28%.

Thursday, April 17, 2014

Google (GOOG/GOOGL) Reports 1Q'14 Results

Google (GOOG/GOOGL) reported 1Q'14 results after the market closed yesterday (02014.04.16). I liked Google's start to 02014, but it appears Wall Street analysts found Google's performance disappointing.

Here's my summary of Google's 1Q'14 results.

1Q'14 free cash flow was $2.05 billion and this is the lowest its been since 4Q'10. I've been tracking Google's quarterly results since 4Q'08.] Capital expenditures were $2.35 billion, which was a record quarterly high. [During the last 12 months Google's capital expenditures have totaled $850 billion.] Google ended 1Q'14 with $59.38 billion in "cash." During 1Q'14 Google added 2,488 Googlers (i.e. employees). Google's effective tax rate for 1Q'14 was 18%.

GOOG and GOOGL closed 02014.04.16 at $556.54 and $563.90, respectively. In pre-market trading on 02014.04.17, GOOG and GOOGL are down 1.2% and 1.8%, respectively. [Note: Google was down almost 5% after reporting 1Q'14 results.]

Wednesday, April 16, 2014

Simple Man Look at Yahoo! (YHOO)

Yahoo! 1Q'14 press release: "Our total repurchases are at just under $6 billion since the beginning of 2012, including repurchases of $450 million in the first quarter [2014]."

End of 1Q'14 there were approximately 1,031,420,000 YHOO shares.

Reuters (02014.04.16): "Speculation about the valuation of Alibaba has reached a fever pitch, with some brokerages pegging it as high as $190 billion."

Yahoo! owns approximately 24% of Alibaba.

24% of $190,000,000,000 is $45,600,000,000. $45,600,000,000 divided by 1,031,420,000 YHOO shares is approximately $44.21 per YHOO share.

YHOO closed on 02014.04.15 at $34.21. After reporting 1Q'14 results, YHOO opened on 02014.04.16 at $36.98. YHOO 52-week high: $41.72. I will probably sell some YHOO if it hits 14 $Pi ($43.98).

Tuesday, April 15, 2014

Yahoo! (YHOO) Reports 1Q'14 Results

Yahoo! (YHOO) reported 1Q'14 results after the market closed today (02014.04.15). The headlines range from good to bad and here is one example: "Yahoo Shares Surge; Tepid Growth Is Still Growth" at The Wall Street Journal(Tue 5:09PM EDT).

The following are a couple of items I liked from Yahoo!'s 1Q'14 press release.

"Cash, cash equivalents, and investments in marketable securities were $4.6 billion as of March 31, 2014 compared to $5 billion as of December 31, 2013, a decrease of $0.4 billion."

During the first quarter of 2014, Yahoo repurchased 12 million shares for $450 million and used a net $22 million for acquisitions."

YHOO closed today (02014.04.15) at $34.21. 52-week range: $22.70 - $41.72.

Friday, April 11, 2014

NASDAQ Down Almost Pi% on 10 April 02014

Yahoo! Finance displays up stocks in green and down stocks in red. Yesterday, 02014.04.10, my Yahoo! Finance page was a sea of red and it's red again this morning. Yesterday the NASDAQ fell 3.1%.

Tuesday, April 8, 2014

Did the Google Stock Split Signal a Market Top?

Google (GOOG/GOOGL) executed a 2:1 stock split after the market closed on 02014.03.02. In three trading days since then the DJIA, S&P 500 and NASDAQ are down 1.61%, 2.61% and 4.85%, respectively. #MomentInTime

Monday, April 7, 2014

Bought Some More Adamis Pharmaceuticals (ADMP) at $4.97

Adamis Pharmaceuticals (ADMP) dropped below $5 this morning (02014.04.07), so I bought some ADMP at $4.97. Having ADMP in the GDT::Portfolio is a major violation of the "invest in what you know" investment adage given I have can't even spell the word pharmaceutical.

Friday, April 4, 2014

Level 3 Communications (LVLT); Google (GOOG/GOOGL); Amazon.com (AMZN)

Three postings in one day is two too many postings for one day. But... I waited a long time for Amazon.com to fall out of the GDT::Portfolio top 15. AMZN's fall from the top 15 resulted from the timing of two events: Level 3 Communications (LVLT) making new 52-week highs and Google's 2:1 stock split resulting in the creation of GOOGL shares.

LVLT took over 14th place moving AMZN to 15th. LVLT made new 52-week highs while AMZN right now is almost 20% below its all-time high. AMZN 52-week range: $245.75 - $408.06. AMZN closed yesterday (02014.04.03) at $333.62.

GOOGL was added to GDT::Portfolio at #6, which pushed AMZN to #16.

GOOG was #2 at the time of the GOOG/GOOGL split. Right now GOOGL is #6 and GOOG is #7.

Google (GOOG) Executes a 2:1 Stock Split Creating GOOGL

Google executed a 2:1 stock after the markets closed on Wednesday, 02014.04.02. The owner of n GOOG shares became the owner of n/2 GOOG shares and n/2 GOOGL shares.

This was the first time Google executed a stock split and it resulted in a new class of shares that trade under the symbol GOOGL. The next time Google does a stock split they can append an 'E' to GOOGL and get GOOGLE.

GOOG closed at $1,135.10 on Wednesday, 02014.04.02.

GOOG and GOOGL closed yesterday (Thursday, 02014.04.03) at $569.74 and $571.50, respectively.

Bought Some More Twitter (TWTR) at 14 $Pi ($43.98)

Twitter (TWTR) keeps going down, so I bought some more TWTR today (02014.04.04) at 14 $Pi ($43.98).

TWTR closed yesterday (02014.04.03) at $44.05. 52-week range: $38.80 - $74.73.

Thursday, April 3, 2014

Sold Some iRobot (IRBT) at 14 $Pi ($43.98)

iRobot (IRBT), after the market closed on 02014.04.02, reported that they had allocated $50 million to buyback IRBT shares over the span of the next year. "The Board's authorization of a share repurchase program reflects our confidence in the health and long-term outlook of the company. With a strong balance sheet and cash flows, we believe we can take advantage of volatile market conditions to buy back our shares while maintaining the flexibility to make strategic investments in our future." -- Colin Angle, iRobot's chairman and CEO

IRBT closed yesterday (02014.04.02) at $42.82. 52-week range: $23.76 - $48.36. At $42.82, approximately 1,167,678 shares could be purchased and that's ~4% of the all IRBT shares.

iRobot's buyback announcement resulted in a "sell" order to be executed at 14 $Pi ($43.98).

[02014.04.03] IRBT closed down a nickel today (02014.04.03) at $42.77. Day's range: $42.15 - $44.43. Volume was below the trailing-3-month average.

Wednesday, April 2, 2014

Level 3 Communications (LVLT) Hitting New 52-Week Highs

Level 3 Communications (LVLT) for the second day in a row has hit a new 52-week high. LVLT is only a few bucks away from overtaking Amazon.com (AMZN) in the GDT::Portfolio. LVLT is a GDT::Portfolio stock for two reasons: Internet piping and manhole covers.

LVLT closed yesterday (02014.04.01) at $40.75 after hitting a new 52-week high of $40.99. Today (02014.04.02) LVLT hit a new 52-week of $41.18.

Tuesday, April 1, 2014

Aastrom Biosciences (ASTM) Improves Its Management Team

Aastrom Biosciences (ASTM) announced this morning (02014.04.01) the appointment of a Chief Scientific Officer and a Chief Medical Officer. The company's press release had the following sub-headline: Globally Recognized Industry Veterans Bring Extensive R&D and Product Development Experience in Regenerative Medicine and Multiple Therapeutic Areas. Hmm... Do two globally recognized sailors jump aboard a sinking ship?

ASTM closed yesterday (02014.03.31) at $4.39.

Saturday, March 29, 2014

Red Hat (RHT) Spikes Down ~7%

Red Hat (RHT) reported 4Q'14 results (02014.03.27) after the market closed yesterday (Thursday) and the market wasn't happy. RHT closed today (Friday, 02014.03.28) at $52.23, down almost 7%. Intra-day low was $51.80. 52-week range: $41.89 - $61.45. Friday's volume was 7.1M vs. 1.6M.

I like Red Hat's CEO. I like that Red Hat is a leader when it comes to Open Source. I have grown a liking to Red Hat's FY. I have to sell some RHT at $67.48, but I don't want to.

Thursday, March 27, 2014

Red Hat (RHT) Reports 4Q'14 Results

Red Hat (RHT) reported 4Q'14 results after the market closed today (02014.03.27). A couple of items from Red Hat's 4Q'14 press release.
"Red Hat continues to deliver a compelling combination of revenue growth, profitability and cash flow."

[...]

"We continued to invest in new technologies and commercial capabilities that further expand our future growth opportunities in open hybrid cloud computing".

I like the phrase "open hybrid cloud computing." #OpenHybridCloudComputing

I like Red Hat's use of the word future because for me it's all about the #future.

These days when I look at a Red Hat quarterly results press release, I immediately goto "cash and investments." As of 28 Feb 02014: $1.49 billion.

RHT closed today (02014.03.27) at $56.13. Intra-day low was $54.80. 52-week range: $41.89 - $61.45.

"Don't fall in love with your stocks" is true. I don't love RHT, but I'm sure glad RHT is a GDT::Portfolio stock (it's currently at #6). I'm a long-term thinker of Open Source being a sustainable movement and not a revolution. RHT is a leader in Open Source computing and for a long time I've been calling myself a FLOSSer (i.e. user of Free/Libre Open Source Software). I need to sell some RHT at $67.48, so I'd like to see a near term RHT pop.

[sidebar] I'd like to see Red Hat Inc. switch from fiscal year reporting to calendar year reporting. Still, I like that 02014 is don and we're currently in 1Q'15. To me, 02015 sounds like a futuristic year.

Wednesday, March 26, 2014

Bought Some More Twitter (TWTR) at 15 $Pi ($47.12)

Although I vowed not to chase Twitter (TWTR), I did some TWTR chasing today (02014.03.26) buying some at 15 $Pi ($47.12). TWTR 52-week range: $38.80 - $74.73.

Illumina (ILMN) Has Fallen Almost 20% in 22 Days

Illumina (ILMN) hit a new 52-week (and all-time high) of $183.30 on 02014.03.04 (i.e. 22 days ago). Yesterday, 02014.03.25, ILMN closed at $147.89. In other words, ILMN is down ~19.3% in the span of three weeks.

At $147.89 ILMN still has a whopping PSR (Price Sales Ratio) of 13.62, but Illumina is a genomics leader and I believe we've only recently entered into the Age of Genomics.

On 02014.03.26 Yahoo! Finance is showing ILMN's SIR (Short Interest Ratio) at 11.6, which I consider high.

Tuesday, March 25, 2014

When Stocks Correct, They Really Correct

The last few days have been difficult on GDT::Portfolio stocks. On 02014.03.25, there are only two (Level 3 Communications [LVLT] and Trimble Navigation [TRMB]) of thirty-two GDT::Portfolio stocks that are less than 10% away from new 52-week highs.

Yesterday, 02014.03.24, Aastrom Biosciences (ASTM) fell 21.7% after a couple of days of huge gains. Also, yesterday, Nanosphere (NSPH) closed at $2.05 putting that key investment underwater. Two top stocks--Illumina (ILMN) and iRobot (IRBT)--are 18% and 15% from their respective 52-week highs.

#Volatility is the rule.

Friday, March 21, 2014

Aastrom Biosciences (ASTM) Continues To Go Up

Aastrom Biosciences (ASTM) closed up 25% yesterday (02014.03.20) at $4.97. Intra-day high was $5.33. Volume was 2.53 million vs. 0.16 million.

Today (02014.03.21) ASTM opened at $5.15 (up ~6%) and spiked to $5.30.

ASTM ended 02013 at $3.23.

[update::02014.03.21] ASTM closed today at $6.49, up 30.58%. Intra-day high was $7.00. Volume was 5.36M vs. 0.97M. Note: According to Yahoo! Finance ASTM has a float of approximately 5.73M.

Wednesday, March 19, 2014

Nanosphere (NSPH) Appears To Be Progressing, But...

Nanosphere (NSPH) issued a press release yesterday (02014.03.18) after the market closed having the headline: Nanosphere Enters Into $30 Million Common Stock Purchase Agreement With Aspire Capital. My immediate thought was dilution, but I'd take that over the company going out of business due to no working capital.
"Our core U.S. microbiology business is continuing to grow and we expect our expanding infectious disease test menu to build upon this momentum. This facility provides us with another component in our financing plan that ensures Nanosphere has the capital necessary to take advantage of our growing market opportunities," said Michael McGarrity, President and Chief Executive Officer of Nanosphere.

Nanosphere will be hosting an Investor Day tomorrow (02014.03.20) in New York City.

NSPH closed yesterday 02014.03.18 at $2.29. 52-week range: $1.77 - $4.49.

Tuesday, March 18, 2014

Kenneth Langone Buys More Geeknet (GKNT)

Geeknet (GKNT) continues to flounder, yet that didn't stop Kenneth Langone from buying 417,736 GKNT shares at $14 per share on 02014.03.14. My calculator says this is approximate $5.85 million investment for Langone. Note: The volume on 02014.03.14 did not reflect Langone's buy.

GKNT closed yesterday (02014.03.17) at $13.97. 52-week range: $12.38 - $20.00.

Monday, March 17, 2014

Yahoo! (YHOO) Gap Open on Alibaba IPO News

Yahoo! (YHOO) had a gap open this morning 02014.03.17 after Alibaba Group confirmed it will list its shares in the United States instead of Hong Kong. Previous close (02014.03.14): $37.60. Open (02014.03.17): $39.10 (up ~4%).

YHOO 52-week range: $21.87 - $41.72.

Wednesday, March 12, 2014

Altair Nanotechnologies (ALTI) Is a Fun Stock For Volatility Seekers

Altair Nanotechnologies (ALTI) crashed yesterday (02014.03.11) closing down ~18% at $5.29. Volume was almost 16-times average. 52-week range: $2.02 - $8.00.

ALTI's volatility has been extremely volatile over the span of the last few weeks. On 02014.02.26, ALTI had an intra-day high of $6.98. Yesterday ALTI had a trading range of $6.93 to $5.18 before closing at $5.29.

One month chart...

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions (KTOS) Reports 4Q'13 Results

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions (KTOS) reported 4Q'13 results yesterday (Tuesday, 02014.03.11) after the markets closed. Last Friday (02014.03.07) I bought some more KTOS at $8.14. I knew the 4Q'13 results were coming and I decided to buy before the earnings release. It appears in pre-market trading today (02014.03.12) that I shouldn't have done that. The market opens in 40 minutes and KTOS is at $7.18 (down 10%).

I liked the company's comment about 02014.

In 2014, we expect to generate significant cash flow from operations, free cash flow after the interest payments on our Senior Notes, and for our accounts receivable DSOs to continue to decrease. We also expect to refinance Kratos' senior notes in 2014, after the "no call" provision expires at the end of May, with the opportunity to significantly reduce the Company's interest rate and further increase our free cash flow."

KTOS closed yesterday (02014.03.11) at $7.98. 52-week range: $4.14 - $9.18.

Tuesday, March 11, 2014

Aastrom Biosciences (ASTM) Spikes Up (and I Don't Know Why)

Aastrom Biosciences (ASTM) closed at $3.90, up ~16%, on 02014.03.10. Volume was 3-times average. I don't why the shares popped. Aastrom is hosting a 4Q'13 Investor Call after the market closes on Thursday, 02014.03.13.

Monday, March 10, 2014

Bought Some More Twitter (TWTR) at 17 $Pi (was I'd Like More Twitter)

Bought some more Twitter (TWTR) today (02014.03.10) at 17 $Pi ($53.41).

[original posting on 02014.03.10] Twitter (TWRT) closed Friday, 02014.03.07, at $53.53. 52-week range: $38.80 - $74.73. I want more TWTR in the GDT::Portfolio, so I placed a limit order to buy some TWTR at 17 $Pi ($53.41). I want to buy more TWTR without chasing it, yet I'm chasing it at 17 $Pi.

Friday, March 7, 2014

Bought Some More Kratos Defense & Security Solutions (KTOS) at $8.14

Bought some more Kratos Defense & Security Solutions (KTOS) this morning (02014.03.07) at $8.14. I read the following at Defense.gov this morning.
Kratos Technology & Training Solutions Inc., San Diego, Calif., was awarded a potentially estimated $35,211,430 indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity, cost-plus-fixed-fee, multiple-award contract to support Space and Naval Warfare Systems Center Pacific’s Training Development and Support Center to provide training for a range of program offices. This is one of four contracts awarded. Each awardee will have the opportunity to compete for task orders during the ordering period. Work will be performed in San Diego, Calif., and work is expected to be completed March 4, 2017. Fiscal 2014 operations and maintenance, Navy; other procurement, Navy and research, development, test and evaluation funds in the amount of $50,000 will be obligated at the time of award, and will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This contract was competitively procured via full and open competition via publication on the Federal Business Opportunities website and the SPAWAR e-Commerce Central website, with seven proposals received and four selected for award. The Space and Naval Warfare Systems Center Pacific, San Diego, Calif., is the contracting activity (N66001-14-D-0106). (Awarded March 5, 2014)

At $8.14, KTOS has a Price Sales Ratio (PSR) of 0.47.

Kratos will be reporting 4Q'13 results after the market closes on Tuesday, March 11th.

iRobot (IRBT) Hits New 52-High and Then Dumps

iRobot (IRBT) hit a new 52-week high of $48.36 yesterday (02014.03.06). At $46.38 IRBT was up 6.2% for the day, but IRBT ended the day down 1.6% at $44.80. Trading volume was ~2-times average. A couple days ago iRobot had a press release titled iRobot Management to Speak at Upcoming Investor Conferences. Those sessions are scheduled for March 12th and March 18th.

At its current price IRBT has a Price Sales Ratio (PSR) of 2.71, which I consider low for a technology company.

Thursday, March 6, 2014

Spire (SPIR) Hits New 52-Week High (5 pennies shy of a $1)

Spire (SPIR) closed at $0.95 yesterday (02014.03.05). $0.95 was a new 52-week high. SPIR started 02014 at $0.54.

On 02013.01.01 I had a posting titled Spire (SPIR) Needs To Spire Upward in 02013. It didn't happen. SPIR started 02013 at $0.50 and ended 02013 at $0.54. I didn't define "spire upward" to mean an 8% gain.

SPIR is up ~76% so far this year and that fits my definition of "spire upward" a bit better. The GDT::Porfolio needs SPIR to stop being a penny stock. Will SPIR continue to "spire upward" here in 02014? If only I had a crystal ball.

[02014.03.06] SPIR closed on 02014.03.06 at $1.06 after hitting an intra-day high of $1.17.

Wednesday, March 5, 2014

New 52-Week Highs on 02014.03.04: AAL, BRKR, ILMN, RHT, TRMB

America Airlines (AAL), Bruker (BRKR), Illumina (ILMN), Red Hat (RHT) and Trimble Navigation (TRMB) all hit new 52-week highs on 02014.04.04.

[update::02014.03.05] "JPMorgan has upgraded Trimble Navigation (TRMB_) to "overweight" from "neutral" with a $43 price target." via TheStreet.com. TRMB closed yesterday (02014.03.04) at $38.99.

Monday, March 3, 2014

NeuroMetrix (NURO) Spikes Up on Good News

NeuroMextrix (NURO) issued a press release today titled NeuroMetrix Reports Publication of Study Demonstrating that NC-stat DPNCheck is Effective at Detecting Diabetic Peripheral Neuropathy. NURO spiked up on the news. Previous close on 02014.02.28 was $2.32. Today NURO spiked to $2.89 (up ~25%) before closing at $2.51 (up ~8%). Volume was 1.32M vs. 0.44M. NURO had an up day on a down day (DJIA down 0.94%; NASDAQ down 0.72%; S&P 500 down 0.74%).

Friday, February 28, 2014

Sold Some Crexendo (EXE) at $Pi ($3.14)

Sold some Crexendo (EXE) today (02014.02.28) at $Pi. The sold shares were bought at $3.12 (i.e. $Pi minus two cents) about 10 months ago. Note: Our remaining EXE shares have an average cost per share of $3.14. I remain optimistic about EXE long-term, but we needed to raise some cash for a bathroom re-model.

Sold Some Cray (CRAY) at $36.00 (no Pi moment)

Some some Cray (CRAY) today (02014.02.28) at $36.00. The sold CRAY shares were purchased 5 years, 3 months, 23 days ago at $2.50.

Sold Some Google (GOOG) at 389 $Pi ($1,222.08)

Sold some Google (GOOG) today (02014.02.28) at 389 $Pi ($1,222.08). Overall GOOG has been a so-so GDT::Portfolio stock.

Tuesday, February 25, 2014

Altair Nanotechnologies (ALTI) Spikes 16%

Altair Nanotechnologies (ALTI) spiked 16.6% today (02014.02.25) even though I don't know why. Volume was 5-times the trailing-3-month average. ALTI closed today (02014.02.25) at $5.83. ALTI 52-week range: $2.02 - $8.00. Our ALTI investment is nicely above water, but it's a small investment and it remains entrenched in the bottom third of the GDT::Portfolio.

[update::02014.02.26] 30 minutes into trading today and ALTI is up 12% of heavy volume (487,000 vs. 33,100). ALTI is at $6.53 after hitting an intra-day early morning high of $6.94. If there's news (and I suspect there is), I'm not aware of it.

[update::02014.02.27] ALTI closed yesterday (02014.02.26) at $5.98, up only 2.57%. Intra-day high was $6.98. Volume was 770,889, which according to the information I see on Yahoo! Finance is ~16% of the float. Again, if there's news, I don't know that it is.

Monday, February 24, 2014

Illumina (ILMN) Should Consider a Stock Split (Hits New 52-week/All-time High)

Illumina (ILMN) hit yet another 52-week (and all-time) high of $177.33 this morning (02014.02.24). Illumina executed a 2:1 stock split during September of 02008 and think it's time they consider doing that again. Hmm... Let's make a 3:1 split this time.

This morning Illumia issued a press release that started with the following paragraph.

Science for Life Laboratory (SciLifeLab) in Sweden has joined the Illumina Genome Network (IGN) to provide researchers with broader access to Illumina’s whole genome sequencing technology. SciLifeLab is the first IGN partner in Europe and will initiate a national large-scale population sequencing program seeking to identify genetic causes of human diseases.

Friday, February 21, 2014

Geeknet (GKNT) Reports 4Q'13 Results (GKNT Crashes)

Geeknet (GKNT) is crashing today (02014.02.21) after reported 4Q'13 results. Right now, eight minutes into trading, GKNT is down almost 18%. GKNT is an important GDT::Portfolio stock, so this sucks. I sold some GKNT back on 02014.01.07 at 6 $Pi, but now I wish I had sold more. I was nervous about the Geeknet being silent with respect to ThinkGeek's holiday sales. D'oh! Borrowing from the rock band Styx I wish I could "find myself a crystal ball."

At $10.18 our GKNT investment will be underwater. The question I'm asking myself right now: At what price might be a good price to buy some GKNT?

[update::02014.02.22] GKNT closed yesterday (02014.02.21) at $14.47, which means the company lost ~16% of its market value. Volume was 225,449; however, GKNT is a thinly traded stock that had a trailing-3-month average of 11,974. Approximately 3% of GKNT shares were traded.

Thursday, February 20, 2014

Tidbits on Facebook (FB), Twitter (TWTR), Bruker (BRKR), Geeknet (GKNT)

Facebook (FB) spent $19 billion to buy a company named WhatsApp. $19 billion approximates Twitter's (TWTR) market value on 02014.02.20. FB and TWTR closed yesterday at $68.08 and $55.50, respectively.

Bruker (BRKR) get a 'Sell' rating by Zacks Equity Research. Zachs.com has a posting headlined: Can Bruker (BRKR) Continue to Rise? My response: Yes... as long as scientists keep doing science.

Geeknet (GKNT) is reporting 4Q'13 results tomorrow (02014.02.21) morning. It bothers me that the company has taken so long to report year end results for 02013. The company has been quiet with respect to ThinkGeek's holiday sales.

Wednesday, February 19, 2014

Sold Some Trimble Navigation (TRMB) at 12 $Pi ($37.70)

Trimble Navigation (TRMB) spiked to a new 52-week high of $38.00 this morning (02014.02.19) and that result in a sale of some TRMB at 12 $Pi ($37.70). I like the business Trimble Navigation is in, so I don't have any plans on selling any more TRMB any time soon.

Bruker (BRKR) Reports 4Q'13 Results

Bruker (BRKR) reported 4Q'13 results after the market closed yesterday (02014.02.18). From Bruker's 4Q'13 press release.
Looking ahead to 2014, we feel better about the health of our core academic and government customers and about our prospects in the clinical research and diagnostics markets, but we remain cautious about demand from the industrial markets. Overall, we expect to generate year-over-year revenue growth of approximately 3 to 4 percent, and non-GAAP EPS growth of 10 to 14 percent, for the full year 2014.
BRKR closed yesterday (02014.02.18) at $21.86. 52-week range: $15.41 - $22.25. At its current price BRKR has a PSR (Price Sales Ratio) of 2, which I think is low for a company that makes equipment that scientists use to create our future.

Five minutes into trading today (02014.02.19) BRKR is at $23.25 (up ~6.4%) after spiking to a new 52-week high of $23.59.

Tuesday, February 18, 2014

VeriTeQ (VTEQ) Spikes Up

Posting from 02014.01.10:
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.

Today, 02014.01.18, VTEQ closed at $1.39, up 33.65%. 52-week range: $0.60 - $4.30. The company issued a press release having the following headline: VeriTeQ Partner Establishment Labs Receives Additional CE Mark Approvals to Market Breast Implants with Q Inside Safety Technology. The sub-headline was: New CE Mark Approvals Permit the Sale of Motiva Implants with Q Inside Safety Technology to 28 Countries in the European Union

I've always found RFID an interesting technology.

VeriTeQ develops innovative, proprietary RFID technologies for implantable medical device identification, and dosimeter technologies for use in radiation therapy treatment. VeriTeQ offers the world's first FDA cleared RFID microchip technology that can be used to identify implantable medical devices, in vivo, on demand, at the point of care.

VTEQ is a crap shoot.

Cray (CRAY) Gets Volatile

Cray (CRAY) jumped from a previous close of $29.97 to close at $41.66 on Friday, 02014.02.14. For the day CRAY was up 39% on heavy volume. Today, Tuesday, 02014.02.18, CRAY closed at $35.99, down almost 14%. Volume half of last Friday's volume, but still 5-times the trailing-3-month average. CRAY ended last week at #1 in the GDT::Portfolio with GOOG #2, but today ended with GOOG #1 and CRAY #2.

Friday, February 14, 2014

Sold Some Cray (CRAY) at 11 $Pi ($34.56)

Cray (CRAY) reported 4Q'13 results today (02014.02.14) that exceeded expectations. CRAY spiked to a new 52-week high of $35.50 shortly after the market opened; consequently, an order to sell some CRAY at 11 $Pi ($34.56) was executed. Right now (7:46am MST) CRAY is at $35.45 (up 18.3%). From Cray's 4Q'13 press release.
"We had a great year in 2013, led by strong growth in both supercomputing and big data," said Peter Ungaro, president and CEO of Cray. "We set Company records for annual and quarterly revenue as we completed the acceptance of more supercomputers during the fourth quarter than we have in any quarter in our history.

Thursday, February 13, 2014

Sold Some Level 3 Communications (LVLT) at 12 $Pi ($37.70)

Sold some Level 3 Communications (LVLT) today (02014.02.13) at 12 $Pi ($37.70). Unless finances dictate otherwise (like me losing my job), I don't want sell anymore LVLT anytime soon.

Sold Some Facebook (FB) at 21 $Pi ($65.97)

Sold some Facebook today (02014.02.13) at 21 $Pi ($65.97). Unless finances dictate otherwise, I really don't want to sell anymore FB anytime soon.

Nanosphere (NSPH) Reports 4Q'13 Results (Gets Upgraded)

Nanosphere (NPSH) reported 4Q'13 results prior to the market opening yesterday (02014.02.12). NSPH did not have a gap open, but shortly after trading began NSPH spiked from previous close of $2.15 to an intra-day high of $2.54. NSPH closed yesterday (02014.02.12) at $2.37, up 10.2% for the day. Volume was 2-times trailing-3-month average.

Today (02014.02.13), prior to the markets opening, I saw this news: Nanosphere upgraded to Buy from Neutral at Roth Capital Roth Capital upgraded Nanosphere citing improved revenue and placement visibility following the company's Q4 results. Roth raised its price target for shares to $3 from $2.50.

NSPH is a speculative investment. From Nanosphere's 4Q'13 press release: Cash flow for the fourth quarter of 2013 was negative $7.8 million as compared with negative $8.8 million in the same quarter of 2012. Cash at December 31, 2013 was $41.5 million. Since 02011 the number of NSPH common shares outstanding has increased to ~62,134,000 from ~37,800,000.

Wednesday, February 12, 2014

Trimble Navigation (TRMB) Reports 4Q'13 Results (Gap Open & New 52-Week High)

Trimble Navigation (TRMB) had a gap open this morning after reporting 4Q'13 results. TRMB spiked to a new 52-week high of $35.86 just minutes after stocks started trading. TRMB's strong open took place even though the company stated the following in the 4Q'13 press release.
"While the fourth quarter supports the anticipation of an improved organic growth outlook for 2014, the environment continues to be comparatively uncertain with variations of regional economic performance, continuing deferrals of investment, and continued constrained government funding."

iRobot (IRBT) Hits New All-Time High

iRobot (IRBT) hit a new all-time of $44.35 yesterday (02014.02.11) before closing at $41.99 (up 11.4% for the day). Volume was almost 5-time trailing-3-month average. Why did IRBT spike upward yesterday? I saw the following reported by multiple sources: iRobot was ranked No. 5 on a list of top patent portfolios in the electronics and instruments industry.

Tuesday, February 11, 2014

Bruker (BRKR) Hits a New 52-Week High

Bruker (BRKR) hit a new 52-week high of $21.75 before closing yesterday (02014.02.10) at $21.74. BRKR hasn't been this high since around July of 02011. BRKR started trading on 02000.08.07 at $23.12. It's all-time high was hit three weeks later on 02000.08.31 at $51.38. It's possible BRKR could see nice a gain if it can pop above its current price.

At $21.74, BRKR has a PSR (Price Sales Ratio) of 2, which I think is low given Bruker is the maker of scientific equipment that is helping researchers create our future.

Saturday, February 8, 2014

Market Values: Google (GOOG) vs. Exxon Mobil (XOM) vs. Apple (AAPL)

Google's (GOOG) market value exceeded Exxon Mobil's (XOM) market value for the first time yesterday (02014.02.07). However, when the markets closed yesterday Exxon Mobil had a market value of ~$395.70 billion compared to Google's market value of ~$394.25. Note: Apple's market value was ~$463.55.

GOOG closed yesterday (02014.02.07) at $1177.44. 52-week range: $761.26 - $1186.54.

Thursday, February 6, 2014

Sold Some American Airlines (AAL) at 11 $Pi ($34.56)

American Airlines (AAL) spiked to a new 52-week high this morning (02014.02.06) and I sold some AAL at 11 $Pi ($34.56). Unless personal finances dictate otherwise, the plan is not to sell anymore American Airlines (AAL) stock until it hits 22 $Pi ($69.12).

iRobot (IRBT) Reports 4Q'13 Results (Down %4, Up %4)

iRobot (IRBT) reported 4Q'13 results after the market close yesterday. Today (02014.02.06) IRBT had gap open down 4.2% (previous close $34.37; opened at $32.93). Right now (30 minutes into trading) IRBT is up 4% at $35.76. 52-week range: $19.91 - $41.12. iRobot had a solid 4Q'13, but it appears as though "iRobot's forward earnings guidance came in below expectations."

Wednesday, February 5, 2014

Twitter (TWTR) Reports 4Q'13 Results (Tanks in After Hours Trading)

Twitter (TWTR) reported 4Q'13 results after the markets closed today (02014.02.05). This was the first time Twitter reported financial results as a public company. Investors are not tweeting tweets of joy right now and it's because "184 million monthly active users in the fourth quarter was lower than the consensus expectation of 249 million." 35 minutes into after hours trading TWTR was down 13%.

Twitter's revenue for 02013 was $665 million. The company is projecting 02014 revenues of $1.15 billion to $1.2 billion.

Twitter ended 02013 with approximately $2.2 billion in "cash."

TWTR closed today (02014.02.05) at $65.97. 52-week range: $38.80 - $74.73.

[update::02014.02.06] Ouch! TWTR opened down 23.28%. Previous close $65.97; opened at $50.61. Dipped to $50.00 and right now (35 minutes into trading) its down 19% at $53.35.

Level 3 Communications (LVLT) Reports 4Q'13 Results (Hits New 52-Week High)

Level 3 Communications (LVLT) reported 4Q'13 results today (02014.02.05) before the market opened. The first paragraph from the press release: "Total revenue of $1.602 billion for the fourth quarter 2013, compared to $1.614 billion for the fourth quarter 2012. For the full year 2013, total revenue was $6.313 billion, compared to $6.376 billion for the full year 2012." I like how Level 3 reports revenues to nearest thousandth (i.e. three decimal digits).

LVLT had a gap open today (02014.02.05). Previous close was $31.41 and the open was at $32.59. LVLT spiked to a new 52-week high $34.83 during the first few minutes of trading.

Monday, February 3, 2014

Kratos Defense & Security Solution (KTOS) Might Spike Up This Morning

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. (KTOS) announced today (02014.02.03) that its "Defense & Rocket Support Services (DRSS) division was awarded a five-year SeaPort-e Indefinite Delivery, Indefinite Quantity (IDIQ) Multiple Award Contract (MAC) from the Naval Surface Warfare Center, Dahlgren. The contract award covers all seven zones with a maximum contract value of $7.92 billion." Hmm... I've been wanting to sell some KTOS, but not at its current price. Maybe this morning's news will provide a chance to execute a sale at 3 $Pi ($9.42).

KTOS closed Friday, 02014.01.31, at $7.23. 52-week range: $4.08 - $9.16.

[update::02014.02.03] Markets opened while I was typing this in. Two minutes into trading and KTOS was at $9.02 (up 24.70%).

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.