Put These Two Promising Biotech Stocks on Your Watch List

by Louis Basenese, Small Cap and Special Situations Expert Friday, November 6, 2009: Issue #1132

All the hoopla surrounding the biotech stock, Dendreon Corp. (Nasdaq: DNDN), this year is well deserved.

After all, the market potential for its prostate cancer treatment, Provenge, is significant. This year, 190,000 new cases of prostate cancer are expected, with 27,000 deaths from the disease. That makes it the most common non-skin cancer in the United States and the third most common cancer worldwide.

But Provenge takes a novel approach to treatment. The drug is the first active immunotherapy to improve survival by training a patient’s immune system to attack the cancer. And since it uses the body’s natural defenses, patients only report flu-like symptoms instead of the nasty side effects associated with chemotherapy.

This

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Today, we are featuring top-performing “Technology" equity mutual funds, which primarily invest in equity securities of companies that deal in advanced technologies.

Investors can find such funds by checking out the entire list of the Zacks #1 Rank Technology Equity Funds.

3 Hi-Tech Choices

T. Rowe Price Global Technology (PRGTX) seeks long-term capital growth. It may purchase stocks ranging from small companies to blue chip firms with established track records.

The fund invests at least 80% of its net assets throughout the world in the common stocks of companies that generate a majority of their revenues from the development, advancement, and use of technology. It looks to invest at least 30% of its assets in established as well as emerging foreign markets.

Shareholders have to make a minimum initial investment of $2,500 to enter this Zacks#1 Rank (“Strong Buy") fund. As of June 2009, it has a portfolio turnover of 104.6%.

David J.

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1st Mariner Bancorp reported a net loss of $12.956 million, or $2.01 per share, in the third quarter of 2009. The bank attributed most of the loss to problems with Mariner Finance, a consumer finance subsidiary that is slated for sale.

The net loss included an impairment charge of $10.584 million to recognize a write down in value of the bank’s investment in Mariner Finance. 1st Mariner Bancorp has reached an agreement to sell Mariner Finance, bringing the carrying value of Mariner Finance to approximate the amount that it is being sold for. The sale is expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2009.

Edwin F. Hale, Sr., the CEO said, “While the sale of Mariner Finance negatively impacted our third quarter results, the proceeds to be generated from the sale are expected to provide a key step to increasing regulatory capital ratios of First Mariner Bank.”

1st Mariner Bancorp

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House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has an impressive record with passing big votes, but according to this article on The Hill a robust public option may be too much for the Congress to handle. Pelosi is relying on a complex series of whips to keep the factional Democratic party in line. There are two votes that will be particularly hard for her to get: Rep. Frank Kratovil (Md.): Kratovil is considered one of the most endangered Democrats in this year’s freshman class. He became the poster child for incivility when protesters hanged him in effigy. So it was a surprise when Pelosi snagged his vote on climate change by making Maryland farmers eligible for as much as $1 billion in incentives for reducing emissions. But she might not get him this time; Kratovil has said he’s a no on the healthcare ...

Earlier today, Legg Mason, Inc. (LM) reported revenues of $659.9 million in its fiscal second quarter, up 8% sequentially thanks to an increase in the percentage of higher yielding equity assets and higher performance fees.

On a year-over-year basis, revenues were down 32% because of a decline in fees earned due to lower average Assets Under Management (AUM).

Operating margins improved to 21.0% from 20.4% in the prior quarter, spurred by higher assets under management. However, it declined significantly from 29.1% year over year.

Net income came in at $45.8 million, compared to $50.1 million in the first quarter and a net loss of $108.7 million in the year-ago quarter.

EPS of 30 cents easily beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 21 cents.

As of Sep 30, 2009, AUM was $702.7 billion, up 7% sequentially from $656.9 billion, driven by market appreciation and reduced outflows. However, on a year-over-year basis, AUM was down

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Cancer is a deadly killer that has been affecting families globally for far too long. Despite billions of dollars placed into research, there has not been a great amount of success in helping victim’s survive the tragic battle. One company in Maryland has developed a vaccine to stimulate a patient’s own immune system to fight cancer. That company is Northwest Biotherapeutics; their vaccine is the DCVaxA-Brain.

The DCVaxA-Brain is a groundbreaking vaccine because it is made up of the patient’s own “dendritic cells”, master cells that direct the immune system. The “dendritic cells” have been activated and educated to mobilize the whole immune system to recognize and destroy cancer cells bearing the biomarkers of the patients own tumor.

Today, Northwest Biotherapeutics announced further long-term data for the period from January through September of 2009 from its prior Phase I and Phase I/II clinical trials conducted at UCLA with

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TOMI Environmental Solutions, Inc. announced this morning that it has delivered a complete set of air remediation equipment for the treatment of infectious disease control to its alliance partner, ROLYN Companies. With plans to use this equipment for their clients in the Maryland, Virginia and Washington D.C. area, ROLYN has already put the TOMI air remediation package to work.

Mark Futrovsky, President of ROLYN, stated, “In conjunction with the TOMI training, we have successfully utilized the TOMI air remediation equipment, and our clients and their consultants have been pleased with the results. The multiple applications of these products and their cost effectiveness have expanded our ability to better serve our client base in need of air remediation and infection disease control services.”

Halden Shane, CEO of TOMI, commented, “The industrial hygienists we encounter on each job continue to be amazed at the effectiveness of our indoor air remediation results, whether

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Allegheny Energy Inc. (AYE) yesterday scaled down its proposed rate hike in Virginia . Earlier, in April 2009, the company had asked for $22.6 million rate hike, which it has now scaled down by $3.2 million to a $19.4 million. Allegheny has proposed the hike before the Virginia State Corporation Commission to recover its cost of purchased power.  For a residential customer with a monthly consumption of 1,000 kilowatt-hours of power, Allegheny's original proposal would have increased the bill by $5.47 to $96. The scaled-down proposal would result in a monthly bill of $94. Headquartered in Greensburg , Pennsylvania , Allegheny Energy is an electric utility company with over $3 billion in annual revenues.  The company is engaged in both regulated electricity and natural gas distribution utility operations as well as in unregulated wholesale energy markets. It owns and operates generating facilities and serves electricity to ...

Constellation Energy Group Inc. (CEG) and EDF Development Inc. recently announced that the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) has approved the investment structure and license transfer related to EDF’s investment in Constellation Energy Nuclear Group LLC. EDF Development Inc. -- the wholly owned subsidiary of French energy major EDF S.A. -- is planning to acquire 49.99% stake in Constellation Energy’s nuclear assets for $4.5 billion. Subsequently, EDF’s interest in Constellation Energy Nuclear Group will be structured as a new joint venture between the companies. The deal has received the necessary federal approvals and clearance from the New York Public Service Commission. However, regulatory approval from the Public Service Commission in Maryland is pending. A final decision will be taken by the Maryland Public Service Commission in October 2009. Constellation Energy is pursuing the divestment of its nuclear assets to improve liquidity position and strengthen balance ...

Jones Lang LaSalle Inc. (JLL), a leading real estate investment trust (REIT), has been selected by SunTrust Banks Inc. (STI), a premier banking organization in the U.S., to provide integrated facility management services across its entire portfolio spanning 16 million square feet.

With the deal, Jones Lang would be entrusted to effectively manage the day-to-day tasks related to the operations across SunTrust’s facilities. SunTrust operates an extensive branch and ATM network throughout Florida, Georgia, Maryland, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia and Washington, DC. Jones Lang’s leading position in property and corporate facility management services would enable it to improve the operational efficiency of SunTrust.

On the other hand, the deal strengthens Jones Lang’s position in the market and offers it an expanded role in the operations of one of the largest banking organizations of the country. Jones Lang is a leading full-service real estate firm that provides corporate, financial,

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