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Northrop Wins Military Contract – Analyst Blog

Zacks Market Commentaries — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 19:11:54 +0000

Northrop Grumman Corp. (NOC) was awarded a $302.9 million fixed price incentive fee contract for five RQ-4 Global Hawk high-altitude, long-endurance (HALE) unmanned aircraft systems (UAS), by the U.S. Air Force. Earlier, the U.S. Air Force granted RQ-4 Global HALE with a military Airworthiness Certification (AWC), a significant milestone in the life of the aircraft system and a step on the path to routine unmanned flight within the United States.

Under the Lot 7 production contract, the company will build two Block 30 systems and three Block 40 systems for the Aeronautical Systems Group at Wright Patterson AFB in Dayton, Ohio. The award also includes a ground station consisting of a launch and recovery element and a mission control element, plus two additional sensor suites that will be retrofitted into previous production aircraft. The contract runs through 2011.

The company will deliver in 2010 the two Block 30 aircraft equipped with the Enhanced Integrated Sensor Suite (EISS) that provides electro-optical/infrared and synthetic aperture radar imaging capabilities. These aircraft will also be retrofitted to incorporate the production Airborne Signals Intelligence Payload.

The HALE UAS, Global Hawk can soar at altitudes of more than 60,000 feet for more than 32 hours and send near-real-time reconnaissance imagery and signals intelligence data to air, ground, and sea forces. It can fly three times as long and operates at a fraction of the cost per flight hour of its manned counterpart. Compared to other similar UAS, a single Global Hawk collects the same information as 18 smaller medium-altitude UAS.

Global Hawks are currently flown in four locations across the globe: Beale Air Force Base in Northern California, Edwards Air Force Base in Southern California, Patuxent River Naval Air Station in Maryland, and a forward operating location in support of Overseas Contingency Operations in the Persian Gulf.

Read the full analyst report on "NOC"
Zacks Investment Research

Arrayit Corp. (ARYC.OB) Technology Purchased by the Prestigious Johns Hopkins University

QualityStocks — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 14:54:18 +0000

The Sunnyvale, California based Arrayit Corporation has quickly evolved into a leader in the genetic, research, and diagnostic communities through the development and manufacture of state-of-the-art life science technologies which combat diseases. Today, the young corporation made national news with the announcement that the prestigious Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine in Baltimore, Maryland [...]

New Generation Biofuels Holdings, Inc. (NGBF) Announces Financial Results for Third Quarter 2009

QualityStocks — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 15:47:26 +0000

New Generation Biofuels Holdings, Inc. today announced its financial results for the quarter ended September 30, 2009. Reporting revenues of $34,412 for the quarter, the company recognized a net loss of $2.3 million. For the first nine months of 2009, the company had net revenues of $77,048, and a net loss of $9.7 million. As of [...]

Enzon Beats, Announces Sell-off – Analyst Blog

Zacks Market Commentaries — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 20:53:40 +0000

Enzon (ENZN) achieved break-even earnings during the third quarter of 2009, better than the Zacks Consensus Estimate of loss of 7 cents but below the year-ago earnings of 1 cent. The company reported revenues of $44.6 million, a decline of 9% compared to $48.8 million reported in the third quarter of 2008.

Enzon records revenues from three sources -- products, royalties and contract manufacturing. The three segments recorded a decline of 1%, 6% and 56%, respectively, compared to the year-ago period.

Enzon has four marketed products -- Oncaspar for the treatment of acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL); DepoCyt for lymphomatous meningitis; Abelcet for antifungal infection related to cancer and Adagen used to treat severe combined immunodeficiency disease (SCID), commonly known as the "bubble boy" disease. Apart from Oncaspar, whose sales remained unchanged from the year-ago period, the other three recorded a decline of 4%, 15% and 10%, respectively.

Enzon earns royalties from several products, which have been manufactured using its proprietary PEGylation technology -- Pegintron, marketed by Merck (MRK); Macugen, marketed by OSI Pharmaceuticals (OSIP) and Pfizer (PFE); Pegasys, marketed by Hoffmann-La Roche; and Cimzia, marketed by UCB Pharma. The company earns a majority of royalty revenue from sales of Pegintron, which is approved for the treatment of hepatitis C. Unfavorable movement of the foreign exchange brought down royalty revenues during the quarter.

Additionally, cancelled shipments and discontinuation of customer schedules were responsible for lower contract manufacturing revenues. We expect contract manufacturing revenues to suffer going forward since many of the current contracts are to expire in the next two years.

R&D expenses during the quarter were $15.8 million, unchanged from the year-ago period. The company has several pipeline candidates: PEG-SN38, the HIF-1 alpha antagonist, Survivin (antagonist) and other LNA- and PEGylation- based programs.

The company’s financial position continues to worry us. At the end of the reported quarter, total cash reserves including investments were $201.3 million, down compared to $206.9 million at the end of December 2008, primarily due to the repurchase of $20.4 million of notes in 2009 offset by the cash provided by operating activities.

Shortly after announcing its third quarter results, Enzon announced that it has decided to sell its specialty pharmaceutical business to the Sigma-Tau group of Italy for $300 million. In addition, the company is eligible to receive another $27 million based on success milestones and royalties of 5% - 10% on incremental net sales above a 2009 baseline amount from its four marketed products through 2014.

The specialty pharmaceutical business includes the company’s four marketed products as well as the manufacturing facility in Indianapolis, Indiana which will be purchased by a US subsidiary of Sigma-Tau Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (Maryland). Sigma-Tau Pharmaceuticals will distribute the products in the US market.

Following the deal, Enzon’s business will consist of its royalties and its pipeline. We believe declining sales of the products in the recent past forced the company to take such decision. Currently, company’s aim will be to focus on its developmental candidates.
Read the full analyst report on "ENZN"
Read the full analyst report on "MRK"
Read the full analyst report on "OSIP"
Read the full analyst report on "PFE"
Zacks Investment Research

Top Technology Equity Funds – Mutual Fund Commentary

Zacks Market Commentaries — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 06:24:19 +0000

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. Eiswert has been lead manager of the fund since October 2008. Eiswert is a Chartered Financial Analyst and holds a Masters Degree in Economics from the University of Maryland.

Fidelity Select Electronics (FSELX) was incepted in July 1985 and seeks capital appreciation. It is non-diversified.

The fund normally invests at least 80% of assets in common stocks of companies principally engaged in the design, manufacture, or sale of electronic components; equipment vendors to electronic component manufacturers; electronic component distributors and electronic instruments and electronic systems vendors. It may also invest in stocks of foreign companies.

Intel Corporation, Texas Instruments and Applied Materials Inc are among the funds top are among the fund’s top holdings. It has an expense ratio of 0.89% against a category average of 1.81%.

Christopher Lin has been lead manager of the fund since January 2009. The fund offers dividends and capital gains twice a year in April and December.

Kinetics Internet Emerging Growth (WWWEX) seeks long-term growth of capital by investing in equity securities of emerging internet companies whose research and development efforts may result in higher stock values. It was incepted in December 1999.

The fund invests in companies such as Internet service providers, software companies, computer hardware companies, E-commerce and content developers. It invests up to 20% of its assets in convertible and nonconvertible debt securities rated below investment grade. It is non-diversified.

Steven Tuen has been lead manager of the fund since December 1999. Tuen is a Chartered Financial Analyst and was with IPO Value Monitor before joining Kinetics Asset Management in 1999.

Discover Many More Funds

Learn more about the new Zacks Mutual Fund Rank and discover some of the best market-beating mutual funds by browsing our mutual funds section. This part of Zacks.com offers a variety of tools, including mutual fund research, a new mutual fund screener, helpful answers to frequently asked questions and quick access to prospectuses and other information.

By applying the Zacks Rank to mutual funds, investors can find funds that not only outpaced the market in the past but are also expected to outperform going forward.

Zacks Investment Research

1st Mariner Bancorp (FMAR) Reports Loss and Write Down Of Assets

QualityStocks — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 18:39:37 +0000

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 [...]

A Tough Nut to Crack

Jeffrey Miller — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 21:18:00 +0000

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 [...]img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/ElectionStocks/~4/E_nXcWd3tg8" height="1" width="1"/

Legg Mason Reports Profit – Analyst Blog

Zacks Market Commentaries — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 19:15:00 +0000

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 17% from $841.9 billion.

As of Sep 30, 2009, fixed income represented 55% of the consolidated AUM, and equity comprised 24%. The company has approximately 21% in cash and marketable securities. During the quarter, fixed income outflows were approximately $10 billion, equity outflows were $2 billion and liquidity inflows were $4 billion. Total outflows of $8 billion were a significant improvement from the $30 billion outflow in the last quarter.

At the end of the quarter, the company had approximately $1.6 billion in cash, and debt of $2.0 billion. Management added that the strong cash position, along with the significant cash tax benefits that the company enjoys, will enable management to reduce debt and reinvest in the company's businesses.

During the quarter, Legg Mason re-branded and simplified its Legg Mason branded, retail-oriented fund families into one fund family. This follows the consolidation of operating platforms earlier this year, which now allows investors to broadly exchange products across both fund families and to aggregate purchases within a wider menu of funds. This, in turn, will help them reduce sales charges on new purchases.

The sharp decline in equity markets and dislocations in the credit markets has adversely affected the entire financial sector during fiscal 2009. The company continues to reel under the after effects of an acute recessionary environment as most of the company's business continues to face difficult market conditions. Going forward, management believes the conditions will remain challenging in fiscal 2010 as well.

Nevertheless, management has been able to pave a recovery path from the past two quarters after posting five consecutive quarters of net losses, given early signs of economic recovery and improvement in business sentiments. However, the road to recovery will be a long and challenging one.

Based in Baltimore, Maryland, Legg Mason is a global asset management firm serving individual and institutional investors worldwide. It competes with top players like BlackRock, Inc. (BLK) in this space.

Read the full analyst report on "LM"
Read the full analyst report on "BLK"
Zacks Investment Research

Northwest Biotherapeutics Inc. (NWBO.OB) Helps Cancer Patients with DCVaxA-Brain

QualityStocks — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 14:21:04 +0000

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 [...]

TOMI Environmental Solutions, Inc. (TOMZ.OB) Delivers Air Remediation Equipment to ROLYN

QualityStocks — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 14:02:50 +0000

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 [...]

Allegheny Revises Rate Hike – Analyst Blog

Zacks Market Commentaries — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 17:00:00 +0000

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 approximately 1.6 million customers spread across the states of Pennsylvania , West Virginia , Maryland and Virginia .

Going forward, Allegheny Energy’s positive investment factors include higher generation rates in Pennsylvania and Maryland , higher residential usage and ongoing transmission projects. Looking ahead, we expect that the company’s regulated delivery utility business will provide steady earnings growth while the disposal of retail distribution operations in Virginia will infuse liquidity.

However, the positives would be offset by lower industrial demand and higher emission and hedging costs. We reiterate our Neutral recommendation on the low dividend yield stock, which reflects our view that the stock will trade at par with the peer group of electric utility companies such as AES Corporation (AES) and TECO Energy Inc. (TE).
Read the full analyst report on "AYE"
Read the full analyst report on "AES"
Read the full analyst report on "TE"
Zacks Investment Research

Constellation Divesting Assets – Analyst Blog

Zacks Market Commentaries — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 22:43:00 +0000

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 sheet. The company has more than $1.5 billion of debt lined up for maturity this fiscal year. The debt-loaded company with a debt-to-equity ratio of 134.6% after the first half of fiscal 2009 dished out $143.9 million in interest expenses during the second quarter compared to only $78.8 million in the year-ago quarter.

Based in Baltimore, MD, Constellation Energy supplies energy products and services to wholesale customers as well as retail commercial, industrial and governmental customers in North America. It is a North American energy company that includes a merchant energy business and the Baltimore Gas and Electric Company (BGE), a regulated electric and gas public utility in central Maryland. Its merchant energy business is a provider of energy solutions.

Constellation Energy also has other non-regulated businesses, which design, construct and operate heating, cooling and cogeneration facilities for commercial, industrial and governmental customers throughout North America. Moreover, it provides home improvements, service heating, air conditioning, plumbing, electrical and indoor air-quality systems, besides providing natural gas to the residential customers in central Maryland. We maintain our market Neutral recommendation on the shares.
Read the full analyst report on "CEG"
Zacks Investment Research

JLL to Manage SunTrust Facilities – Analyst Blog

Zacks Market Commentaries — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 19:48:59 +0000

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, and investment management services. The company caters to corporations and other real estate owners, users, and investors worldwide.

Currently, Jones Lang provides property and corporate management services across a worldwide portfolio of 1.4 billion square feet. Its investment management division, LaSalle Investment Management is one of the largest and most diverse companies in the real estate market and has over $46 billion of assets under management.

Read the full analyst report on "JLL"
Read the full analyst report on "STI"
Zacks Investment Research

Zacks Analyst Blog Highlights: Hanger Orthopedic Group, Inc., Orthofix International NV, Conmed Corporation, Exactech Inc. and Owens & Minor Inc. – Press Releases

Zacks Market Commentaries — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 12:40:04 +0000

For Immediate Release

Chicago, IL – October 12, 2009 – Zacks.com announces the list of stocks featured in the Analyst Blog. Every day the Zacks Equity Research analysts discuss the latest news and events impacting stocks and the financial markets. Stocks recently featured in the blog include: Hanger Orthopedic Group, Inc. (HGR), Orthofix International NV (OFIX), Conmed Corporation (CNMD), Exactech Inc. (EXAC) and Owens & Minor Inc. (OMI).

Get the most recent insight from Zacks Equity Research with the free Profit from the Pros newsletter: http://at.zacks.com/?id=5513

Here are highlights from Friday’s Analyst Blog:

Hanger on Acquisition Spree

Hanger will fund these acquisitions from internally generated cash flows. It is estimated that the acquisitions will be accretive to Hanger’s earnings once the integration process is over.

The acquisitions strengthen Hanger’s leadership position in the orthotic and prosthetic (O&P) market and bolster its top-line. Hanger Orthopedic Group, based in Bethesda, MD, provides orthotic and prosthetic patient care services through its 671 patient care centers in the U.S. The company operates through four business units: patient care, distribution, Linkia and Innovative Neurotronics.

Patient care consists of orthotic and prosthetic practice centers throughout the nation. Distribution comprises distribution centers dealing with the supply chain of orthotic and prosthetic components to Hanger and third party patient care centers. Linkia is the first and the only network management provider for the orthotics and prosthetics industry. Innovative Neurotronics provides emerging neuromuscular technologies developed through independent research in a collaborative effort with industry suppliers worldwide.

As the market leader, Hanger has economies of scale unmatched by other competitors. To further drive awareness and market share in a 1-2% volume growth market, the company’s field force provides extensive education to physicians. To build relationships, the company is attempting to become a one-stop shop by offering a comprehensive total care package to patients that physicians can rely upon.

Hanger competes with Orthofix International NV (OFIX), Conmed Corporation (CNMD), Exactech Inc. (EXAC) and Owens & Minor Inc. (OMI) in the orthotic and prosthetic space.

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Continuous coverage is provided for a universe of 1,150 publicly traded stocks. Our analysts are organized by industry which gives them keen insights to developments that affect company profits and stock performance. Recommendations and target prices are six-month time horizons.

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Zacks Investment Research

Hanger on Acquisition Spree – Analyst Blog

Zacks Market Commentaries — Fri, 09 Oct 2009 21:45:22 +0000

Hanger Orthopedic Group, Inc. (HGR) recently made three acquisitions totaling $10.7 million in annual net revenues. These acquisitions are: Creative Orthotics & Prosthetics, Inc.; Custom Orthopedics of Wyoming; and certain orthotics and prosthetics assets from the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania. These acquisitions will enable Hanger to add patient care centers to its existing markets in New York, Wyoming and Pennsylvania.

Hanger will fund these acquisitions from internally generated cash flows. It is estimated that the acquisitions will be accretive to Hanger’s earnings once the integration process is over.

The acquisitions strengthen Hanger’s leadership position in the orthotic and prosthetic (O&P) market and bolster its top-line. Hanger Orthopedic Group, based in Bethesda, MD, provides orthotic and prosthetic patient care services through its 671 patient care centers in the U.S. The company operates through four business units: patient care, distribution, Linkia and Innovative Neurotronics.

Patient care consists of orthotic and prosthetic practice centers throughout the nation. Distribution comprises distribution centers dealing with the supply chain of orthotic and prosthetic components to Hanger and third party patient care centers. Linkia is the first and the only network management provider for the orthotics and prosthetics industry. Innovative Neurotronics provides emerging neuromuscular technologies developed through independent research in a collaborative effort with industry suppliers worldwide.

As the market leader, Hanger has economies of scale unmatched by other competitors. To further drive awareness and market share in a 1-2% volume growth market, the company’s field force provides extensive education to physicians. To build relationships, the company is attempting to become a one-stop shop by offering a comprehensive total care package to patients that physicians can rely upon.

Hanger competes with Orthofix International NV (OFIX), Conmed Corporation (CNMD), Exactech Inc. (EXAC) and Owens & Minor Inc. (OMI) in the orthotic and prosthetic space.
Read the full analyst report on "HGR"
Read the full analyst report on "OFIX"
Read the full analyst report on "CNMD"
Read the full analyst report on "EXAC"
Read the full analyst report on "OMI"
Zacks Investment Research

DrStockPick.com Stock Report! 10/08/09, GTY, CI, LNC, CWLZ, STI, TXI

Dr. Stock Pick — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 16:12:48 +0000

Dr Stock Pick HOT News & Alerts! _______________________________________ FREE Daily Stock Alerts From DrStockPick.com _______________________________________ Thursday October 8, 2009 DrStockPick.com Stock Report! ************************************************************** Please be advised that Getty Realty Corp. (NYSE: GTY) will release its financial results for the quarter ended September 30, 2009, after the market closes on Tuesday, November 3, 2009. CIGNA (NYSE:CI) and ProHealth Physicians, Inc., [...]

AYE Wins Regulatory Approval – Analyst Blog

Zacks Market Commentaries — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 18:20:01 +0000

Allegheny Energy Inc. (AYE) has recently bagged an approval from the West Virginia Public Service Commission to sell $105 million in bonds. The proceeds will be utilized to finance its ongoing gas scrubber project on-going scrubber project (flue gas de-sulfurization) at its 1,107MW coal-fired Fort Martin Power Station near Morgantown , West Virginia . In July 2009, Allegheny Energy, requested to raise approximately $105 million through environmental control bonds with a term of up to 10 years.

Earlier in January 2007, Allegheny Energy received the commission’s approval to gather $450 million of the total estimated cost of $550 million for the scrubber project through securitized financing.

Allegheny Energy plans to repay the bonds by adjusting the current Environmental Control Charge from West Virginia customers. As per company estimates, this would raise the average bill for a customer with a monthly consumption of 1,000 kilowatt-hours of electricity by 76 cents, or less than 1%.

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 the unregulated wholesale energy markets. It owns and operates generating facilities and serves electricity to approximately 1.6 million customers spread across the states of Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Maryland and Virginia. We reiterate our Neutral recommendation on the shares.
Read the full analyst report on "AYE"
Zacks Investment Research

DrStockPick.com Stock Report! 10/06/09, FDML, TXN, GLOB, EMC, FCSC, CICI

Dr. Stock Pick — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 13:27:46 +0000

Dr Stock Pick HOT News & Alerts! _______________________________________ FREE Daily Stock Alerts From DrStockPick.com _______________________________________ Tuesday October 6, 2009 DrStockPick.com Stock Report! ************************************************************** The first aluminum diesel piston rolled off the line today at Federal-Mogul Corporation’s (Nasdaq: FDML) joint venture with KAMAZ, the leading manufacturer of heavy-duty trucks in Russia. The 50/50 JV, called Federal-Mogul Naberezhnye Chelny, located [...]

Constellation Downsizing Debt – Analyst Blog

Zacks Market Commentaries — Fri, 02 Oct 2009 20:48:40 +0000

Constellation Energy Group Inc. (CEG) is focused on improving its liquidity position and strengthen its balance sheet. The company was able to reduce its total debt level from $8.5 billion at year-end 2008 to below the $7 billion mark after the first half of fiscal 2009.

The debt-loaded company with a debt-to-equity ratio of 134.6% after the first half of fiscal 2009 dished out $143.9 million in interest expenses during the recent second quarter of 2009 compared to only $78.8 million in the year-ago quarter.

The pain may get even worse with the July 2009 downgrade by Fitch Ratings, bringing Constellation Energy's senior unsecured debt rating from BBB to BBB- and BGE's (Baltimore Gas & Electric) senior unsecured debt rating from A- to BBB+.

With more than $1.5 billion of debt lined up for maturity this fiscal year, the company may have to resort to refinancing. To tide over the debt-maturity storm, CEG is pro-active in increasing its credit facility from approximately $5.6 billion after the first half of fiscal 2009. It added another $500 million in August 2009.

However, all the resource crunch will be solved if the pending deal for selling half of the company’s nuclear business to EDF Group for $4.5 billion goes through. A final decision will be taken by the Maryland Public Service Commission in October 2009.

Based in Baltimore, MD, Constellation Energy supplies energy products and services to wholesale customers, and retail commercial, industrial, and governmental customers in North America. It is a North American energy company, which includes a merchant energy business and the Baltimore Gas and Electric Company (BGE). Its merchant energy business is a provider of energy solutions.

Constellation Energy also has other non-regulated businesses, which design, construct and operate heating, cooling and cogeneration facilities for commercial, industrial and governmental customers throughout North America. Moreover, it provides home improvements, service heating, air conditioning, plumbing, electrical and indoor air-quality systems; and also provides natural gas to the residential customers in central Maryland. We maintain our market Neutral recommendation on the shares.
Read the full analyst report on "CEG"
Zacks Investment Research

Allegheny Increases Credit Facility – Analyst Blog

Zacks Market Commentaries — Tue, 29 Sep 2009 20:58:28 +0000

Allegheny Energy, Inc. (AYE) recently announced that its unregulated power generation subsidiary Allegheny Energy Supply Company, LLC (AE Supply) bagged a new $1 billion senior unsecured revolving credit facility with a three-year maturity. Allegheny plans to use the money from the new credit facility for general corporate purposes and capital expenditure for its unregulated plants.

The new credit facility will increase and replace AE Supply’s existing $400 million revolving credit facility, which was scheduled to mature in May 2011. The withdrawals under this credit facility will bear interest that is calculated based on the London Interbank Offered Rate (LIBOR) along with a margin based on AE Supply’s senior unsecured credit rating. As of now the margin on LIBOR-based loans is 3.5%.

Allegheny is focused on strengthening its liquidity position and improve its financial flexibility by reducing interest burden. The company in recent times has concentrated on refinancing debt with lower interest rates.

AE Supply’s proactive role in debt reduction has already reduced the interest burden of the Generation & Marketing segment by $2.8 million and $9.9 million year-over-year for the three and six months ended June 30, 2009, respectively. This was due to lower average debt outstanding at lower interest rates under AE Supply’s credit facility and increased capitalized interest resulting from capital projects that were partially funded by cash from operations.

Headquartered in Greensburg, PA, 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 the unregulated wholesale energy markets. It owns and operates generating facilities and serves electricity to approximately 1.6 million customers spread across the states of Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Maryland and Virginia.

Going forward, Allegheny Energy’s positive investment factors include higher generation rates in Pennsylvania and Maryland, higher residential usage and ongoing transmission projects. We expect that the company’s regulated delivery utility business will provide steady earnings growth while the disposal of retail distribution operations in Virginia will infuse liquidity. However, the positives would be offset by lower industrial demand and higher emission and hedging costs.

We reiterate our Neutral recommendation on the low dividend yield stock which reflects our view that the stock will trade at-par with the peer group of electric utility companies like AES Corporation (AES) and TECO Energy Inc. (TE).
Read the full analyst report on "AYE"
Read the full analyst report on "AES"
Read the full analyst report on "TE"
Zacks Investment Research

Constellation Energy Group Inc. Has Long-Term Potential, But Short-Term Problems

Contrarian Profits — Mon, 28 Sep 2009 15:05:15 +0000

pAs the second-largest provider of electricity to the United States,strong Constellation Energy Group Inc./strong (NYSE: a href="http://www.google.com/finance?q=NYSE%3ACEG" target="_blank"CEG/a) has a tremendous upside. At least, it would if the economy were growing strongly. /p pUnfortunately, that’s not the case. And that means Constellation will have to clear a number of hurdles if it’s going to fulfill its long-term promise.br / Last year, the company bet big on higher energy prices and paid the price dearly when the economy collapsed./p pConstellation’s very high level of debt, with large bond maturities in 2009 and 2012 at that time meant they were flirting with financial disaster. That forced the company into a deal with stronga href="http://www.google.com/finance?q=EPA%3AEDF" target="_blank"Électricité de France SA /a /strong(EDF),strong /strongin which the European energy giant agreed to inject $4.5 billion into Constellation in exchange#8230;/p

Allegheny Announces Debt Issue – Analyst Blog

Zacks Market Commentaries — Wed, 23 Sep 2009 15:45:00 +0000

Allegheny Energy (AYE) yesterday announced that its unregulated generation subsidiary Allegheny Energy Supply Company LLC (AE Supply) will issue $600 million aggregate principal amount of senior unsecured notes.

Of the $600 million notes to be issued, $350 million notes come with a coupon rate of 5.75% due 2019. The rest $250 million notes come with a coupon rate of 6.75% notes due 2039. The company anticipates the notes offering to be completed by Oct 1, 2009.

AE Supply will use the proceeds from the $600 million issue to repay a term loan of $447 million and refinance $150 million of its outstanding notes due 2011. The existing notes come with a dearer coupon rate of 7.80%.

The company is focused on cleaning its balance sheet and reduce interest burden by refinancing debt with lower interest rates. AE Supply’s proactive role in debt reduction has already reduced the interest burden of the Generation & Marketing segment by $2.8 million and $9.9 million year over year for the three and six months ended Jun 30, 2009, respectively.

This was due to lower average debt outstanding at lower interest rates under AE Supply’s credit facility and increased capitalized interest resulting from capital projects that were partially funded by cash from operations. Headquartered in Greensburg , Pennsylvania , Allegheny is engaged in both regulated electricity and natural gas distribution utility operations as well as in the unregulated wholesale energy markets.

The company operates through two business segments: the low-margin Delivery & Services and the high-margin Generation & Marketing. The Delivery & Services segment consists of three regulated electric utilities, which operate electric transmission and distribution systems and a natural gas distribution system. This segment provides electricity to 1.6 million customers in Pennsylvania , Virginia , Maryland and West Virginia . The Generation & Marketing segment consists of unregulated power generation operations and marketing operations, which are conducted primarily through its subsidiary, AE Supply. We maintain our long-term Neutral recommendation on Allegheny shares.
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Zacks Investment Research

Vaccination at Target Pharmacies – Analyst Blog

Zacks Market Commentaries — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 15:05:05 +0000

Target Corporation (TGT) recently announced that with effect from October 2009, flu vaccinations would be readily available at over 1,500 Target Pharmacy locations nationwide. The vaccination program will begin on Oct 3, 2009, and run through Nov 7, 2009. The cost of flu vaccines starts at only $24.

Target accepts various insurance plans so that the people do not have to bear the cost of vaccinations. These vaccines do not safeguard against the deadly H1N1 flu, but are essential to protect families against seasonal flu and are recommended by Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Local, state and federal health authorities are currently administering the production and distribution of the H1N1 vaccine. More than 200,000 people suffer from seasonal flu in the U.S. every year.

The target group falls within the age bracket of 6 months to 19 years and 50 years or above, pregnant women, people with chronic diseases, individuals admitted to nursing homes, workers in health care departments and caretakers of children less than six months old. Target Pharmacy also offers more than 300 generic medicines under its Target Generics program, whereby families may obtain a supply of 30 days or 90 days at only $4 or $10, respectively.

Furthermore, Target operated clinics in Minnesota and Maryland , which are run by well-trained and highly skilled nurses, practitioners, and qualified physicians, offer fast on-the-spot medical aid. Target Corporation, based in Minneapolis , currently operates 1,719 stores in 49 states nationwide.
Read the full analyst report on "TGT"
Zacks Investment Research

Solar Energy’s Future Shines Brightest in China

Contrarian Profits — Mon, 14 Sep 2009 19:58:43 +0000

pWith the announcement that it intends to build the world’s largest solar power plant, China is rapidly evolving into the world’s largest market for solar energy. And with heavy government backing, Chinese solar companies are quickly becoming global leaders./p pFast-growing industry and a reliance on coal-fired power plants turned China into the world’s largest emitter of greenhouse gas a few years ago. Clouds of smog far thicker than that of Los Angeles hang over many of its cities and much of the water is densely polluted. But that’s something the central government aims to change./p pChina plans to reduce energy consumption per unit of its gross domestic product (GDP) by 20% of 2005 levels by the end of next year. It’s more#8230;/p

NXT Nutritionals, Inc. (NXTH.OB) Launches SUSTA Natural Sweetner

QualityStocks — Wed, 09 Sep 2009 17:42:12 +0000

NXT Nutritionals Inc. is a developer and marketer of proprietary, patent-pending healthy alternative sweeteners as well as food and beverage products. The common ingredient for all of the company’s products is its SUSTA natural sweetener, a minimal calorie, all-natural, nutritional sweetening system. The company believes that SUSTA is superior to all other sweeteners on the [...]

PennyOmega.com Stock Report! 9/09/09, CNAM, WFC, HGG, QASP, NICK, MPS

PennyOmega.com — Wed, 09 Sep 2009 15:35:45 +0000

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GenVec’s TNFerade Nears NDA Status (NASDAQ:GNVC)

Michael Vlaicu — Wed, 09 Sep 2009 06:06:14 +0000

GenVec, Inc. (Public, NASDAQ:GNVC) StocksHaven Investments profiles a clinical stage biopharmaceutical company developing gene-based therapeutic drugs and vaccines. Its lead product candidate, TNFerade biologic (TNFerade), is being developed for use in the treatment of cancer, and is currently undergoing Phase III trials which are expected to be completed by Q1 2010. In addition to its therapeutic product [...]

The Bear Market is Not Over

Bill Bonner — Fri, 04 Sep 2009 11:33:02 +0000

pYesterday might turn out to be an important day. The market should have bounced. It didn’t. Instead, it fell 29 points. strongIt’s September, too…a dangerous month./strong And this rally has already run longer than the rally following the ’29 crash./p pMr. Market can do what he wants, of course. We’re just trying to read his mind. If we were Mr. Market, what would we do? We’d give investors a fright!/p pstrongTwo things make us think the bear market is not over./strong/p pFirst, there is market history. Bear markets do not end with stocks still trading at nearly 20 times earnings and the dividend yield barely at 3%. And they don’t end when people are hoping, praying and expecting them to end. They end in#8230;/p

Three Valuable Patents, Potential FDA Filing (OTC:PWRM)

Michael Vlaicu — Tue, 01 Sep 2009 23:15:05 +0000

Power3 Medical Products, Inc. (Public, OTC:PWRM) The following company analysis has been contributed by a StocksHaven Investments affiliate and member, Michael Sklar. He has been studying the markets for several years now with a focus in undiscovered Bio-Pharm companies. About Power3 Medical Products, Inc. (Power3) is primarily engaged in commercializing its intellectual properties in the area of diagnosis [...]

China Sets the Tone, FDIC Falters, Fed Makes a Profit, India’s Surprise and More!

Contrarian Profits — Mon, 31 Aug 2009 20:14:37 +0000

pChinese stocks plummet, worldly markets follow… what’s behind today’s sell-off#8230; a href="http://www.contrarianprofits.com/articles/author/dan-denning/" class="alinks_links"Dan Denning/a on taking profits in the twilight of the U.S. stock rebound#8230; India reports better-than-expected GDP growth… why our Mumbai partners are still hesitant#8230; Another compelling argument against U.S. banks… Dan Amoss serves the cold, hard data#8230; Plus, signs of the times: American’s vote to throw the bums out while the free market backlash hits Hollywood#8230;/p p strongChina has once again set the tone for our Monday market forecast./strong Roll the videotape:/p p/p pChinese traders dumped shares early this morning after a popular magazine rumored that the booming Chinese loan market is cooling off. Caijing magazine guessed that the Chinese loaned about $29 billion in August, a 43% crash from July. While that number isn’t official, traders around the#8230;/p

Wells Fargo Going Slow on Wachovia – Analyst Blog

Zacks Market Commentaries — Tue, 25 Aug 2009 15:15:40 +0000

Six months after acquiring Wachovia Corp., the Wells Fargo (WFC) name and stagecoach logo have yet to be seen in the Kansas City area. Indeed it will not be visible till the next year. San Francisco-based Wells Fargo has been moving slowly to consolidate Wachovia Bank into its system.

During December last year, the brokerage firm Wachovia Securities became part of Wells Fargo. All 4,800 branches of the residential lender Wachovia Mortgage have been folded into Wells Fargo Home Mortgage.

Wachovia Corp. was purchased by Wells Fargo on Dec 31, 2008, when it ceased to be an independent corporation. The company had been battered by heavy losses – especially in its portfolio of flexible, interest-only home loans – and was suffering a run on its deposits.

The consolidation of Wachovia bank branches into Wells Fargo's network is scheduled to begin this November. The integration will begin in Colorado, one of a half-dozen states where both the institutions have overlapping branches.

After Colorado, the branch-conversion process will move to five other states – California, Arizona, Illinois, Nevada and Texas – where Wells Fargo and Wachovia offices also overlap. Conversion in these states is expected to begin in 2010, though the conversion dates haven’t been announced for the Wachovia-only markets in the Carolinas and along the East Coast.

Wells Fargo’s growth plans have included a large number of acquisitions, Wachovia being the latest in December 2008. The company has demonstrated its ability to assimilate local franchises offering a wider range of products than the acquired company could have had.

The Wachovia merger is expected to generate an internal rate of return (IRR) of about 20% and be accretive to earnings starting from the third year without any adjustments. Further, as a result of the merger, Wells Fargo substantially expanded its distribution network and has a Community Banking presence for the first time in 16 states – Alabama, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Kansas, Maryland, Mississippi, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia and Washington D.C.

Last month, Wells Fargo reported net income of 57 cents per share. The company reported that the Wachovia merger is on track and expects to realize $5 billion of annual merger-related savings upon completion of the integration process. During the latest reported quarter, 39% of the combined revenue came from Wachovia. With the combined resources, Wells Fargo will be in an even better position to satisfy its customers’ financial needs.

We maintain a Neutral recommendation on the shares of Wells Fargo.

Read the full analyst report on "WFC"
Zacks Investment Research

Recovery is Impossible

Bill Bonner — Tue, 18 Aug 2009 18:32:30 +0000

pOh woe! Oh woe! O! Bama! Where is thy recovery? Yesterday, the world’s stock markets took a hit. The Dow lost 186 points#8230; following a very bad showing in China. Is this the end of the rally? /p pCould be. We’re not betting one way or the other. But we’re pretty sure this rally is going to end#8230; and end badly#8230; sooner or later. So far, the rally surpassed the rally in ’29 by a few weeks#8230; but has not quite reached its magnitude. It will need another few hundred points to reach the ’30 level./p pBut when the rally is over#8230; then what?/p pDespite the fact that a majority (!) of economists polled by the Wall Street Journal say the recession is#8230;/p

Saturday Success Story – Rick, Maryland

Trading School — Sat, 15 Aug 2009 12:00:59 +0000

At MarketClub, our mission is to help you become a better trader. Our passion is creating superior trading tools to help you achieve your goals—no matter which way the markets move—we promise objective and unbiased recommendations not available from brokers. Here’s great news from a member… “I have been using MarketClub for over 3 years and I [...]

Allegheny Seeks Higher Base Rate – Analyst Blog

Zacks Market Commentaries — Fri, 14 Aug 2009 20:45:40 +0000

Allegheny Energy (AYE) recently appealed to the Public Service Commission of West Virginia for a base rate (covers non-fuel costs of the utility) increase of $122 million. The proposed increase, if approved, will generate a return on equity (ROE) of 12.25% for the company.

This base-rate increase, which will be Allegheny’s first since 1994, will help the company to cover rising business costs and maintain financial stability at its West Virginia operations. Following the raise, bills for residential customers using 1,000 kilowatt hours of electricity per month would rise by about 14% to $95 from current charges of $83.

Allegheny will continue to benefit from its stable and regulated electric power operations. The positive investment factors for the company include higher generation rates in Pennsylvania and Maryland, increased residential usage, approvals for transmission projects and steady progress with scrubbers.

However, growing environment-related capital expenditures, emission and hedging costs, rising taxes, substantial interest burden on account of expansion plans and higher coal prices remain areas of concern. Going forward, we see shares of Allegheny performing in line with the broader market and reiterate our Neutral recommendation.

Read the full analyst report on "AYE"
Zacks Investment Research

PennyOmega.com Stock Report! 8/14/09, MKRS, HPQ, STRN, PMI, CTL, LMT

PennyOmega.com — Fri, 14 Aug 2009 17:01:04 +0000

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Allegheny Cleaning Balance Sheet – Analyst Blog

Zacks Market Commentaries — Tue, 11 Aug 2009 16:49:14 +0000

Allegheny Energy (AYE) yesterday announced that its unregulated generation subsidiary Allegheny Energy Supply Co., LLC (AE Supply) will purchase for cash up to $220 million principal amount from its medium term notes. The offer will expire on Sept 4.

The $220 million to be paid off is to be sourced from two debts. Of the $650 million outstanding notes due 2012 with a coupon rate of 8.25%, AE Supply plans to retire a maximum of $160 million. While from the $400 million outstanding notes due 2011 with a coupon rate of 7.80%, the company plans to retire a maximum of $100 million.

Headquartered in Greensburg, Pennsylvania, Allegheny is engaged in both regulated electricity and natural gas distribution utility operations as well as in the unregulated wholesale energy markets. The company operates through two business segments: the low margin Delivery & Services and the high margin Generation & Marketing.

The Delivery & Services segment consists of three regulated electric utilities, which operate electric transmission and distribution systems and a natural gas distribution system. This segment provides electricity to 1.6 million customers in Pennsylvania, Virginia, Maryland and West Virginia.

The Generation & Marketing segment consists of unregulated power generation operations and marketing operations, which are conducted primarily through its subsidiary, AE Supply.

The early retirement of $220 million of medium term loans will clean up the books of AE Supply. Subsequently, apart from the remaining medium term notes, it will have only $447 million of term loans due 2011 and $1.3 million of pollution control bonds due 2012 in the medium term. The rest of its debt consisting of $267 million of pollution control bonds and $100 million debentures are only due post-2013.

AE Supply’s proactive role in debt reduction has already reduced the interest burden of the Generation & Marketing segment by $2.8 million and $9.9 million year over year for the three and six months ended June 30, 2009, respectively. This was due to lower average debt outstanding at lower interest rates under AE Supply’s credit facility and increased capitalized interest resulting from capital projects that were partially funded using cash from operations. We maintain our Neutral recommendation on Allegheny.
Read the full analyst report on "AYE"
Zacks Investment Research

Allegheny Misses the Mark – Analyst Blog

Zacks Market Commentaries — Wed, 05 Aug 2009 15:20:24 +0000

Allegheny Energy (AYE) missed the Zacks Consensus EPS estimate of $0.44 by three cents in the second quarter of fiscal 2009. The company also fell short of the year-ago EPS by four cents due to lower industrial demand and output from coal-based units. Coal-based units utilized 14% lower capacity during the quarter compared to the prior-year period.

Headquartered in Greensburg, Pennsylvania, Allegheny Energy is engaged in both regulated electricity and natural gas distribution utility operations as well as in unregulated wholesale energy markets. The company operates through two business segments: the low margin Delivery & Services and the high margin Generation & Marketing.

The Delivery & Services unit consists of three regulated electric utilities, which operate electric transmission and distribution systems and a natural gas distribution system. This segment provides electricity to 1.6 million customers in Pennsylvania, Virginia, Maryland and West Virginia.

The Generation & Marketing division comprises unregulated power generation operations, which are conducted primarily through its subsidiary, Allegheny Energy Supply.

Quarterly revenue nosedived 15% year over year to $814.7 million due to dismal performance of its unregulated business covering the Generation & Marketing segment. However, this was partially offset by the regulated business comprising the Delivery and Services segment.

Delivery and Services top line rose 10.3%, boosted by higher generation rates in Pennsylvania and Maryland as well as increased recovery of purchased power costs in Virginia. On the other hand, Generation & Marketing segment top line shrunk 27.8% due to lower generation volumes, decreased power prices and higher O&M costs.

Following the industry trend, the company witnessed a steep fall in the retail sales in the industrial segment. Other utilities like American Electric Power Company Inc. (AEP), Constellation Energy Group (CEG) and Dominion Resources (D) also reported sharp drops in industrial volumes for the quarter.

Although the downtrend was across the board, Allegheny Energy’s industrial volume fell 17.6% year over year. This was due to lower usage per customer, which dipped by 18.5%. The trend percolated down the line and dragged down net income by 52.8% to $72.9 million. We maintain our Neutral recommendation on Allegheny Energy.

Read the full analyst report on "AYE"
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Zacks Investment Research

Ultimate Sports, Inc. (USPS.PK), View Systems, Inc., (VSYM.OB), Fresh Harvest Products, Inc., (FRHV.OB) , Power 3 Medical Products Inc. , (PWRM.OB) (DrStockPick Stock Report!)

Dr. Stock Pick — Fri, 31 Jul 2009 14:21:39 +0000

USPS, Ultimate Sports Inc, USPS.PK VSYM, View Systems, Inc., VSYM.OB FRHV, Fresh Harvest Products, Inc., FRHV.OB PWRM, Power 3 Medical Products Inc. , PWRM.OB DrStockPick Stock Report! DrStockPick News Report! “USPS, VSYM, FRHV, PWRM“ DrStockPick Stock Report! Friday July 31, 2009 ******************************************************** Ultimate Sports, Inc. Looks Forward to a Productive Snowmobile Season Ultimate Sports, Inc. (Pink Sheets:USPS ), a manufacturer and supplier to the [...]

Human Genome Revises Offering – Analyst Blog

Zacks Market Commentaries — Thu, 30 Jul 2009 17:52:42 +0000

Human Genome Sciences Inc. (HGSI) announced that it plans to raise approximately $310 million as net proceeds by selling 23.2 million common shares at $14 per share. This reflects an expansion of the initial public offering where the company had planned to sell 18 million shares in public.

The Rockville, Maryland-based company further stated that the underwriters would be given a month to buy up to an additional 3.48 million common shares to cover any over-allotments. The offering, expected to close on August 3, will lead to considerable dilution in the shareholder base.

Human Genome intends to use the proceeds for general corporate and acquisition or investment purposes. Additionally, this funding arrangement is also expected to provide cash for further development of the pipeline.

As a reminder, Human Genome has a robust and diversified pipeline which includes drugs to treat hepatitis C, lupus, anthrax, cancer, rheumatoid arthritis and HIV/AIDS. The company has recently filed a Biologics License Application for ABthrax for the treatment of inhalation anthrax. Zalbin (formerly Albuferon) has completed phase III development. The filing of global marketing applications is expected in fall 2009.

Additionally, the company has collaborations with pharmaceutical and biotech companies such as Amgen (AMGN), Genentech (DNA) (now part of Roche [RHHBY]), GlaxoSmithKline PLC (GSK), etc. These companies are conducting trials of additional drugs to treat cardiovascular, metabolic and central nervous system diseases.

The recently announced encouraging results of its lupus drug Benlysta is a big positive for the company. However, we would like to see results from another late-stage study for the same indication in November this year, before recommending the shares to investors as it is a high-risk program. Historically, lupus has been found to be difficult to treat. Therefore we are neutral on HGSI’s shares.
Read the full analyst report on "HGSI"
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VSYM View Systems Announces Acquisition of FiberXpress, Inc. (DrStockPick News Report!)

Dr. Stock Pick — Wed, 29 Jul 2009 20:54:30 +0000

VSYM, View Systems Inc, VSYM.OB DrStockPick News Report! Dr Stock Pick HOT News & Alerts! View Systems Announces Acquisition of FiberXpress, Inc. Wednesday July 29, 2009 DrStockPick News Report! *********************************************************** View Systems Announces Acquisition of FiberXpress, Inc. BALTIMORE, July 29, 2009 (CRWE NEWSWIRE) — View Systems, Inc. (OTCBB:VSYM), a security and teledata solutions provider, announced today that View has acquired FiberXpress, Inc., a [...]

Human Genome Raising Money – Analyst Blog

Zacks Market Commentaries — Wed, 29 Jul 2009 20:54:20 +0000

This week, biopharmaceutical company Human Genome Sciences Inc. (HGSI) announced the commencement of an underwritten public offering of up to 18 million shares of its common stock. The Maryland-based company stated that the underwriters would be given a month’s period to buy up to an additional 2.7 million common shares. While the company should be able to raise funds sufficient to finance operations through this operation, the issuance of shares will lead to considerable dilution in the shareholder base.

The company intends to use the proceeds for general corporate and acquisition or investment purposes. Additionally, this funding arrangement is also expected to provide cash for further development of the pipeline.

As a reminder, Human Genome has a robust and diversified pipeline, which includes drugs to treat hepatitis C, lupus, anthrax disease, cancer, rheumatoid arthritis and HIV/AIDS. The company has recently filed a Biologics License Application (BLA) for ABthrax for the treatment of inhalation anthrax while Zalbin (formerly Albuferon) has completed phase III development, and the filing of global marketing applications is expected in fall 2009.

Additionally, the company has collaborations with pharmaceutical and biotech companies such as Amgen (AMGN), Genentech (DNA) (now part of Roche [RHHBY]), GlaxoSmithKline PLC (GSK), etc. who are conducting trials of additional drugs to treat cardiovascular, metabolic and central nervous system diseases.

The recently-announced encouraging results of its lupus drug Benlysta have caused Human Genome's price to soar. However, we would like to see results from another late-stage study for the same indication in November this year, before recommending the shares to investors as it is a high-risk program. Historically, lupus has been found to be difficult to treat. Therefore, we are neutral on Human Genome’s shares.

Read the full analyst report on "HGSI"
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VSYM, View Systems Announces Acquisition of FiberXpress, Inc. (PennyOmega.com Stock Report!)

PennyOmega.com — Wed, 29 Jul 2009 16:24:20 +0000

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HGR Surpasses Estimates – Analyst Blog

Zacks Market Commentaries — Wed, 29 Jul 2009 15:28:00 +0000

Yesterday, Hanger Orthopedic Group Inc. (HGR) reported results for its second quarter of fiscal 2009. Net sales were in line with our estimates and increased roughly 7% year over year to $193.5 million. GAAP EPS was $0.31, compared to $0.11 in the year-ago quarter and exceeded our estimates of $0.27.

Growth in net sales can be attributed to higher same-center sales of patient care services, higher sales of distribution segment, and acquisition. Same-center and distribution segment sales increased roughly 4.4% and 4.2% year over year, respectively. Excluding acquisition, net sales growth was roughly 4.4% year over year.

Gross margin increased 10 basis points year over year to 69.6% in the quarter due to top-line growth. The company witnessed significant operating expense leverage that helped improve operating margin by 70 basis points year over year to 12.5%. Higher gross and operating margin led to an increase in net margin by 370 basis points year over year to 5.2%.

The company ended the quarter with a cash balance of roughly $76.4 million, an increase of approximately $24.5 million sequentially. The company generated strong cash flow from operations. Cash flow from operations was $24.5 million, compared to cash used in operations of $3.7 million in the year-ago quarter.

Management has reiterated its 2009 sales guidance of $750 million to $760 million. However, it has raised its EPS guidance by $0.06 to a range of $1.02 to $1.04.

Hanger Orthopedic Group, based in Bethesda, Maryland, provides orthotic and prosthetic (O&P) patient care services through its 671 patient care centers in the U.S.
Read the full analyst report on "HGR"
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PennyOmega.com Stock Report! 7/27/09, BKD, LPHI, IUSA, GRMN, JAVA, GE

PennyOmega.com — Mon, 27 Jul 2009 15:06:00 +0000

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The Real Economy is Shutting Down

Bill Bonner — Fri, 24 Jul 2009 20:30:45 +0000

pWhat’s good for Goldman is bad for the nation. /p pWe’re attending a financial conference here in Vancouver. Yesterday was actually the tenth anniversary of the a href="http://www.dailyreckoning.com" class="alinks_links"Daily Reckoning/a. A group of readers took your editor to dinner and toasted him./p pHe was flattered#8230; and grateful for the attention./p pBut we’re not kidding ourselves. Readers come up to us at conferences and tell how much they enjoy reading the DR. We wait for questions about Quantitative Easing, the Trade of the Decade, the Empire of Debt or other of our important themes. Instead, what they want to know about is:/p p“How’s your gardener doing? What’s Maria doing in Los Angeles? Did you ever figure out what happened to your missing cows#8230;?”/p pReaders know what’s important. They#8230;/p

Human Genome Gets ABthrax Order – Analyst Blog

Zacks Market Commentaries — Wed, 22 Jul 2009 21:57:27 +0000

Rockville, Maryland- based biopharmaceutical company Human Genome Sciences, Inc. (HGSI) announced today that that it will be selling 45,000 doses of raxibacumab or ABthrax to the U.S. Government for the Strategic National Stockpile. The delivery is to be made over a 36-month period, beginning the final quarter of 2009.The company expects to receive approximately $151 million from the completion of this order.

The company had delivered 20,000 doses of the drug, for emergency use in the treatment of inhalation anthrax, to the U.S. Strategic National Stockpile in the first quarter of this year and completed the delivery in the second quarter. It recognized $153.8 million in ABthrax revenue in the first quarter.

Human Genome is under contract to deliver doses of the drug to the U.S. Strategic National Stockpile, which stores huge quantities of medicine and medical supplies to be used in national emergencies like a flu outbreak, terrorist attacks or earthquakes that are brutal enough to deplete local supplies.

As a reminder, ABthrax, for anthrax disease, is being developed under a contract entered into in 2006 with the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA) of the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response (ASPR), U.S. Department of Health and Human
Services (HHS). Under the contract, HGS filed a Biologics License Application (BLA) with the FDA in the second quarter of 2009.

This order for additional doses of ABthrax comes on the heels of stupendous news for the company whereby Human Genome and its partner GlaxoSmithKline Plc (GSK) announced positive results for its lupus drug Benlysta in a phase III study (BLISS-52). Results from another late-stage study (BLISS-76) for
the same indication are expected this November.

Positive results from BLISS-76 should allow the company to submit marketing applications in the U.S., Europe and other regions in the first half of 2010. However, once Benlysta hits the market, it could face tough competition from Atacicept, which is under late-stage development for lupus nephritis by Merck KGaA/ZymoGenetics (ZGEN).

Encouraging results from BLISS-52 have caused Human Genome's price to soar. However, we would like to see results from BLISS-76 before we recommend the shares to investors as it is a high-risk program - historically, lupus has been found to be a difficult to treat disease. We maintain our Hold rating on HGSI shares.

Read the full analyst report on "HGSI"
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Zacks Investment Research

Ciena’s New Carrier Ethernet Win – Analyst Blog

Zacks Market Commentaries — Wed, 22 Jul 2009 17:17:16 +0000

Recently, Linthicum, CIENA (CIEN) Maryland-based, an OEM of optical networking equipment, software, and services announced that its Carrier Ethernet Service Delivery (CESD) platform has been deployed by Clearwire (CLWR) for the newly launched CLEAR 4G mobile WiMAX service.

Clearwire is using Ciena’s LE-311v Service Delivery Switches, CN 5305 Service Aggregation Switches and Ethernet Services Manager software for its 4G backhaul solution. The Ethernet Services Manager’s intelligent software automation will help Clearwire build and deploy large-scale backhaul networks using platforms that can be installed, configured, provisioned and remotely reprogrammed at higher speed, thereby reducing costs and accelerating service delivery.

We believe Ciena’s focus on helping carriers transition to next generation networks places it in one of the fastest growing portions of the telecommunications market. Also Ciena’s Carrier Ethernet platform enables differentiation and provides a competitive advantage to the company. Because Ethernet is a standard, service providers can extract better efficiencies and therefore lower costs across the network.

According to Ovum-RHK, the global Carrier Ethernet business services market is expected to reach $31.0 billion by 2012, fueled by demand for high-capacity Layer 2 Virtual Private Networks (VPNs), video, business continuity and disaster recovery, and cloud computing.

Although Ciena continues to grow, the company has a small share of the market relative to many of its competitors, which include Alcatel-Lucent (ALU), Cisco (<a href="http://(CSCO)">CSCO), Ericsson, Fujitsu, Nokia (<a href="http://(NOK)">NOK), Nortel (<a href="http://(NT)">NT), and Tellabs (<a href="http://(TLAB)">TLAB). These larger customers may have better customer relationships and offer a full suite of products, eliminating the need for multiple vendors. Moreover, these competitors have greater financial resources and can compete aggressively on price.

We maintain our Hold rating on Ciena shares.
Read the full analyst report on "CIEN"
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Zacks Investment Research

Boston Properties Shows Strength in Q2 – Analyst Blog

Zacks Market Commentaries — Wed, 22 Jul 2009 16:14:50 +0000

Boston Properties, Inc. (BXP), a leading real estate investment trust (REIT), reported strong second quarter results with FFO (fund from operations) of $166.7 million or $1.32 per share compared to $141.0 million or $1.16 per share in the year-earlier quarter. FFO, a widely used metric to gauge the performance of REITs, is obtained after adding depreciation and amortization and other non-cash expenses to net income.

The better-than-expected FFO figures were primarily due to lease termination fees associated with the vacancy of Lehman Brothers and General Motors Corporation – both being casualties of the bankruptcy filings. During the quarter, Boston Properties recorded $0.10 per share income due to lease terminations. Lehman Brothers occupied 437,000 net rentable square feet of space at 399 Park Avenue, New York, while General Motors occupied 120,000 square feet of office space at 601 Lexington Avenue, also in New York.

During the quarter, the company placed in service 184,000 net rentable square feet office space in Rockville, Maryland, and a 299,000 net rentable square feet office space in Chevy Chase, Maryland. While the former property is currently 20% leased, the latter is about 91% leased. Also, during the quarter, Boston Properties obtained construction financing of $215 million collateralized by its Atlantic Wharf development project (an 815,000 net rentable square feet mixed-use project) in Boston, Massachusetts.

The company issued 17.25 million common shares during the quarter at $50.00 each, raising net proceeds of $842.0 million. Boston Properties utilized a part of the proceeds to repay the outstanding balance of its $100 million revolving credit facility, and $30.1 million mortgage loan secured by Ten Cambridge Center property in Cambridge, Massachusetts. During the quarter, the company also repaid a mortgage loan of $47.8 million collateralized by Reservoir Place property in Waltham, Massachusetts, utilizing cash in hand.

However, Boston Properties is gradually feeling the heat of declining fundamentals in most of its markets. Overall portfolio occupancy decreased to 92.5% at the end of the quarter, down from 95.6% in the prior-year quarter. With increased vacancy rates across the portfolio, occupancy is further expected to decline in the coming quarters.

Due to weakening demand for office space, the company reduced its FFO guidance for full year 2009 from $4.65 - $4.80 per share to $4.55 - $4.63. The company also reduced its dividend from $0.68 per share to $0.50 in order to increase its liquidity in the current credit-constrained market.

Despite a rapidly deteriorating market, two of the largest markets of the company – New York and Washington DC are still two of the best office markets in the US. Boston Properties should be able to withstand the current downturn in the US economy, as its office space is concentrated in large, high-barrier urban markets, which usually fare better in a faltering economy. We reiterate our Hold rating of the company.

Read the full analyst report on "BXP"
Zacks Investment Research

The Long and the Short of it All

Bullish Bankers — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 17:34:12 +0000

We are presenting a list of companies which we believe are currently mispriced, based on our estimate of fair value, by the market. We develop our fair value ranges by projected free cash flow out one year and estimating an appropriate FCF multiple based on our assessment of risk and the strength of the balance sheet.

Ocwen Refunds $700K in MD – Analyst Blog

Zacks Market Commentaries — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 14:48:12 +0000

Ocwen refunds $0.7 million to Maryland mortgage borrowers

Ocwen Loan Servicing, a subsidiary of Ocwen Financial Corp. (OCN) voluntarily refunded $674,137 to more than 180 Maryland borrowers after a state examination found violations of Maryland law restricting the imposition of prepayment penalties.

Prepayment penalties are clauses in mortgages that require borrowers to pay a financial penalty to the lender if they pay off their mortgage before the due date.

Ocwen cooperated with the state agency’s examination and voluntarily conducted its own review of its entire Maryland loan portfolio. On completion, it made refund payments around the end of June, 2009.

In November 2008, Ocwen Financial and the government of Maryland had signed an agreement under which Ocwen agreed to help reduce the number of foreclosures in the state. Ocwen services about 7,072 mortgages in Maryland and about 341,000 mortgages nationwide.

Ocwen Financial Corporation is a financial services company engaged in the servicing of residential and commercial mortgage loans. Ocwen acquired mortgage-servicing rights (MSRs) for performing, sub-performing and non-performing residential mortgage loans, for which it earns fees such as annual servicing fee and late fees. Ocwen is approved as a loan servicer by the Department of Housing and Urban Development, Freddie Mac (FRE) and Fannie Mae (FNM).

Ocwen is scheduled to release its 2Q09 earnings results on August 6, 2009. We think the company may be a major beneficiary of President Obama’s loan modification plan. Ocwen was also recently appointed by FRE as a special servicer for the new pilot initiative launched to identify borrowers who are at risk of foreclosure.

Further, the Government is considering the inclusion of securities backed by servicer advances in the expanded TALF program. We expect these initiatives to be significantly accretive to both Ocwen’s revenue and earnings in 2009 and beyond, as they also improve liquidity.

Ahead of the 2Q09 results, we are maintaining our Buy recommendation on the shares.
Read the full analyst report on "OCN"
Read the full analyst report on "FRE"
Read the full analyst report on "FNM"
Zacks Investment Research

Zacks Analyst Blog Highlights: Citigroup, Bank of America, JPMorgan Chase, US Bancorp and Wells Fargo – Press Releases

Zacks Market Commentaries — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 13:51:26 +0000

For Immediate Release

Chicago, IL – July 9, 2009 – Zacks.com announces the list of stocks featured in the Analyst Blog. Every day the Zacks Equity Research analysts discuss the latest news and events impacting stocks and the financial markets. Stocks recently featured in the blog include: Citigroup (C), Bank of America (BAC), JPMorgan Chase (JPM), US Bancorp (USB) and Wells Fargo (WFC).

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Here are highlights from Wednesday’s Analyst Blog:

Mortgage Fraud on the Rise

There typically two types of mortgage fraud. The first, fraud for property focuses on applicants making misstatements to obtain a loan (embellishing income and concealing debt), and the second fraud for profit focuses on elaborate schemes to focus on falsifying appraisals and loan documents, which include identity theft and shell companies.

Reports of fraud have not moderated during the 1H09 as losses are $208 million higher compared to the year ago level. The FBI believes attempts have the potential to spread as expectations for the current economic downward trend is expected to continue into 2009 and perhaps into 2010.

The top 10 mortgage fraud states were California, Illinois, Texas, Georgia, Ohio, Colorado, Maryland, Florida, Missouri and New York. Therefore it its extremely probable that financial institutions such as but not limited to Citigroup (C), Bank of America (BAC), JPMorgan Chase (JPM), US Bancorp (USB) and Wells Fargo (WFC) will continue to experience negative credit quality trends during the coming quarters.

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Zacks Investment Research

Mortgage Fraud on the Rise – Analyst Blog

Zacks Market Commentaries — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 20:50:42 +0000

Based on the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s (FBI) report released July 7, 2009, suspicions of mortgage fraud increased significantly in 2008.

During 2008, financial institutions reported losses of at least $1.4 billion, up by 83.4% over the 2007 level, and suspicions of fraud increased approximately 36.0% to 63,713 over the same time period. Interestingly, nearly two-thirds of all pending FBI mortgage fraud investigations during 2008 involved dollar losses totaling more than $1 million (basically McMansions; please see our "The Looming McMansion Attack"). The negative trend in the housing markets around the country have created an favorable environment for mortgage fraud schemes.

There typically two types of mortgage fraud. The first, fraud for property focuses on applicants making misstatements to obtain a loan (embellishing income and concealing debt), and the second fraud for profit focuses on elaborate schemes to focus on falsifying appraisals and loan documents, which include identity theft and shell companies.

Reports of fraud have not moderated during the 1H09 as losses are $208 million higher compared to the year ago level. The FBI believes attempts have the potential to spread as expectations for the current economic downward trend is expected to continue into 2009 and perhaps into 2010.

The top 10 mortgage fraud states were California, Illinois, Texas, Georgia, Ohio, Colorado, Maryland, Florida, Missouri and New York. Therefore it its extremely probable that financial institutions such as but not limited to Citigroup (C), Bank of America (BAC), JPMorgan Chase (JPM), US Bancorp (USB) and Wells Fargo (WFC) will continue to experience negative credit quality trends during the coming quarters.
Read the full analyst report on "C"
Read the full analyst report on "BAC"
Read the full analyst report on "JPM"
Read the full analyst report on "USB"
Read the full analyst report on "WFC"
Zacks Investment Research

State Budgets Are Anti-Stimulus – Analyst Blog

Dirk Van Dijk — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 15:54:00 +0000

Today is the end of the 2009 fiscal year, and many states are still scrambling to get budgets in place for the 2010 fiscal year.

It is not easy since when the economy turns south, so do tax revenues, and states are not allowed to run deficits or borrow for operating needs. Some states have managed to cut costs or raise taxes enough to close their deficits for the upcoming year. The only two states without a budget problem are Montana and North Dakota.

As shown in the table below (from http://www.cbpp.org/cms/index.cfm?fa=view&id=711), the total spending cuts or revenue increase needs to be $166 billion or 24% of the projected budget. To some extent states have used "rainy day funds" and the money from the Federal Stimulus bill to close some of the gap. Still the problem is very severe with 5 states (CA, AZ, NV, IL, NY) facing shortfalls of greater than 30%. California is in the worst shape with a gap of 58.2%.

STATES WITH PROJECTED FY2010 BUDGET GAPS
State	FY2010 pre-budget	FY2010 mid-year gap	FY2010 Total	FY2010 Total % of Budget
Alabama	$1.2 billion	0	$1.2 billion	16.70%
Alaska	$1.3 billion	0	$1.3 billion	30.00%
Arizona	$4.0 billion	0	$4.0 billion	41.10%
Arkansas	$146 million	0	$146 million	3.20%
California*	$34.2 billion	$19.5 billion	$53.7 billion	58.20%
Colorado	$1.0 billion	$384 million	$1.4 billion	18.60%
Connecticut	$4.1 billion	0	$4.1 billion	23.20%
Delaware	$557 million	0	$557 million	17.60%
District of Columbia	$650 million	$150 million	$800 million	12.70%
Florida	$5.9 billion	0	$5.9 billion	22.80%
Georgia	$3.1 billion	$750 million	$3.9 billion	22.30%
Hawaii	$682 million	$297 million	$978 million	19.10%
Idaho	$411 million	0	$411 million	16.40%
Illinois	$9.2 billion	0	$9.2 billion	33.00%
Indiana	$1.1 billion	0	$1.1 billion	7.50%
Iowa	$779 million	0	$779 million	13.20%
Kansas	$1.4 billion	Yes, DK size	$1.4 billion	22.60%
Kentucky	0	$1.1 billion	$1.1 billion	11.30%
Louisiana	$1.8 billion	0	$1.8 billion	21.60%
Maine	$640 million	0	$640 million	21.40%
Maryland	$1.9 billion	Yes, DK size	$1.9 billion	13.60%
Massachusetts	$5.0 billion	0	$5.0 billion	17.90%
Michigan	$2.4 billion	0	$2.4 billion	12.00%
Minnesota	$3.2 billion	0	$3.2 billion	21.00%
Mississippi	$480 million	0	$480 million	9.60%
Missouri	$923 million	0	$923 million	10.30%
Nebraska	$150 million	0	$150 million	4.30%
Nevada	$1.2 billion	0	$1.2 billion	37.80%
New Hampshire	$250 million	0	$250 million	16.20%
New Jersey	$8.8 billion	0	$8.8 billion	29.90%
New Mexico	$345 million	0	$345 million	6.30%
New York	$17.9 billion	0	$17.9 billion	32.30%
North Carolina	$4.6 billion	0	$4.6 billion	21.90%
Ohio	$3.3 billion	0	$3.3 billion	12.30%
Oklahoma	$600 million	0	$600 million	10.50%
Oregon*	0	0	0	0.00%
Pennsylvania	$4.8 billion	0	$4.8 billion	18.00%
Rhode Island	$590 million	0	$590 million	19.20%
South Carolina	$725 million	0	$725 million	12.50%
South Dakota	$32 million	0	$32 million	2.90%
Tennessee	$1.0 billion	0	$1.0 billion	9.70%
Texas	$3.5 billion	0	$3.5 billion	9.50%
Utah	$721 million	$279 million	$1.0 billion	19.80%
Vermont	$278 million	0	$278 million	24.80%
Virginia	$1.8 billion	Yes, DK size	$1.8 billion	10.90%
Washington	$3.4 billion	$195 million	$3.6 billion	23.30%
West Virginia	$200 million	0	$200 million	5.30%
Wisconsin	$3.2 billion	0	$3.2 billion	23.20%
Wyoming	0	$32 million	$32 million	1.70%
Total	$143.2 billion	$22.7 billion	$165.9 billion	24.40%

This will lead to very drastic cuts in state budgets. Access to medical care by the poor will likely be one of the first things to be cut.

Education budgets will also probably be pared. This could be decreased spending on new textbooks, which would not be good news for publishers like McGraw-Hill (MHP) and Scholastic (SCHL).

Another area that is likely to be hit is new equipment at the municipal level. For example, I would not expect Oshkosh (OSK) to have a very good year selling new fire engines and snow removal equipment to municipalities.

Layoffs of state and municipal workers will simply add to the already high and rising unemployment rate. In short, a big part of the federal stimulus spending is being offset by (legally mandated) anti-stimulus actions at the state level.

As the graph shows, state fiscal problems tend to persist well after the recession is officially over. Indeed the problem is usually worse in the second or third year since by then the "rainy day funds" have already been used up.

Following the last recession, states collectively had their worst year in 2004 with a shortfall of $80 billion (or less than half what they face for fiscal 2010), which was well after the recession officially ended. Thus 2011, and possibly even 2012, will be a very lean year at the state level as well.

Read the full analyst report on "MHP"
Read the full analyst report on "SCHL"
Read the full analyst report on "OSK"
Zacks Investment Research

Words from the (investment) wise for the week that was (June 22 – 28, 2009)

Prieur du Plessis — Sun, 28 Jun 2009 08:37:06 +0000

“Words from the Wise” this week comes to you in a shortened format as I do not have access to my normal research resources while on the road in Europe. Although very little commentary is provided, a full dose of excerpts from interesting news items and quotes from market commentators is included.

New Model: MRAP Meets ATV – Analyst Blog

Zacks Market Commentaries — Fri, 12 Jun 2009 15:25:54 +0000

Coming to a skirmish near you: MRAPATVs

First there were ATV -- All Terrain Vehicles. Then came MRAP(V)s -- Mine-Resistant, Ambush-Protected Vehicles. Put them together and what do you get? Correct: Mine-Resistant, Ambush-Protected All-Terrain Vehicles! Give that man a UAV!

So, why do we need MRAPATVs? Well, in turns out that the current models of MRAPs are OK for deployment on the IED-laced "paved" roads in Iraq. However, for the "Istani" campaign (yes, there is now more than one "stan" with which we must contend), there aren't many paved roads (they are, however, fairly-well lined with IEDs).

This has the consequence that the axles of the existing MRAPs -- which, like the almost extinct Pontiac, are relatively wide-tracked -- are snapping. Hence, we need a new, improved off-road model...really quickly!

Accordingly, our military is now testing newer MRAP-types at the Aberdeen Proving Ground in Maryland which are equipped with (hopefully) radical suspension systems.

Since some of these super-rigs come with a unit price tag of $1 million or more -- and the armed forces in the Istans may need quite a few thousand before this is all over -- there appears to be a lot of interest on the part of many stalwarts of industry in the possibility of being an MRAPATV provider.

As with the predecessor-MRAPs, the possible players include: BAE Systems (owns Armor Holdings/Stewart & Stevenson), Ceradyne (CRDN), Force Protection Industries (FRPT), General Dynamics (GD), L-3 Communications (LLL), Lockheed Martin (LMT), Navistar International (NAV; also manufactures International trucks), Oshkosh Truck (OSK) and Textron (TXT; owns Cadillac Gauge).

This looks like a crash program!

Perhaps, later, when petrol is cheaper, Fiat can come out with the MRAPPER.
Read the full analyst report on "CRDN"
Read the full analyst report on "FRPT"
Read the full analyst report on "GD"
Read the full analyst report on "LLL"
Read the full analyst report on "LMT"
Read the full analyst report on "NAV"
Read the full analyst report on "OSK"
Zacks Investment Research

Monster DieselTM Announces Sponsorship of the 2009 Maryland Motor Truck Association’s Truck Driving Championships

Stuart T. Smith — Wed, 10 Jun 2009 14:03:18 +0000

Monster DieselTM’s parent company, Alkane, Inc. “Alkane” (PINK SHEETS: ALKN), announced today its partnership with the Maryland Motor Truck Association (MMTA) as the Title Sponsor of the 2009 Maryland State Truck Driving Championships. This year marks the 62nd anniversary of the Championships, which will take place on Saturday, June 13 at the Maryland State Fairgrounds in [...]

Zacks Analyst Blog Highlights: Allegheny Energy, Inc., Vivus, Inc., Georgia Gulf Corporation, Sempra Energy and The Medicines Company. – Press Releases

Zacks Market Commentaries — Thu, 14 May 2009 12:05:33 +0000

For Immediate Release

Chicago, IL - May 14, 2009 - Zacks.com announces the list of stocks featured in the Analyst Blog. Every day the Zacks Equity Research analysts discuss the latest news and events impacting stocks and the financial markets. Stocks recently featured in the blog include: Allegheny Energy, Inc. (AYE), Vivus, Inc. (VVUS), Georgia Gulf Corporation (GGC), Sempra Energy (SRE) and The Medicines Company (MDCO).

Get the most recent insight from Zacks Equity Research with the free Profit from the Pros newsletter: http://at.zacks.com/?id=4579.

Here are highlights from Wednesday's Analyst Blog:

Allegheny Energy Offers Stability

Allegheny Energy, Inc. (AYE) reported financial results for the 1st quarter of 2009.

Adjusted net income for the 1st quarter of 2009 decreased by $22.0 million compared with the year-ago period.

Adjusted operating revenues increased by $49.8 million in the reported quarter, reflecting higher generation rates in Pennsylvania and Maryland, increased purchased power cost recovery in Virginia and higher sales to third parties. These benefits were partially offset by reduced generation volume due to lower power plant availability and less demand.

Vivus' Qnexa in the Driver's Seat

We view Qnexa as the leading phase III obesity candidate under development today. Vivus, Inc. (VVUS) has shown that Qnexa offers a synergistic benefit off added weight loss to patients beyond what can be achieved with phentermine or topiramate alone.

Phase III data released by the company from the EQUATE program in December 2008 demonstrated the drug to be both highly efficacious and well tolerated. Patients on the full commercial dose of Qnexa lost a placebo-adjusted 16.5 lbs, or 7.5% of their body weight, after only 28 weeks of treatment. Additionally, we are less concerned with the safety, specifically the cardiovascular or psychiatric side effects, of the drug compared to recently rejected and discontinued cannabinoid type 1 receptor molecules at several large pharmaceutical companies.

Georgia Gulf Nears Bankruptcy

Georgia Gulf Corporation (GGC) today announced that it has received an amendment to its senior secured credit agreement that allows the Company to continue to withhold interest payments due on its 2014 senior notes and 2016 senior subordinated notes without constituting a default. Georgia Gulf previously announced that it had withheld payment of $34.0 million of interest due April 15, 2009 for the 2014 senior notes and 2016 senior subordinated notes.

All three of the Company's note issues are the subject of previously disclosed and currently pending private exchange offers. Under the indentures governing the 2014 senior notes and 2016 senior subordinated notes, Georgia Gulf has a 30-day grace period to pay the withheld interest before the note holders can seek remedies.

Sempra - Higher EPS, Lower Revs

Sempra Energy (SRE) announced improved financial results for its 1st quarter ended March 31, 2009.

Amazingly, the company's mixed results for the quarter yielded significantly improved earnings from a nearly comparable decline in revenues.

Breaking News on Medicines Co.

This morning, The Medicines Company (MDCO) announced that an interim analysis review committee (IARC), along with the data safety monitoring board (DSMB), after conducting a review of the ongoing CHAMPION phase III program with Cangrelor, notified the company that the ongoing CHAMPION-PLATFORM program would not meet the primary endpoint of a persuasive evidence of clinical effectiveness that could serve as the basis for regulatory approval.

Management noted that the bleeding risk seen in the CHAMPION program was similar between Cangrelor and clopidogrel, so the trials were not stopped due to safety concerns.

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Zacks Investment Research

AIG Still Far From Recovery – Zacks Tale of the Tape

Zacks Market Commentaries — Wed, 13 May 2009 20:41:42 +0000

American International Group Inc. (AIG) Chief Executive Edward Liddy failed to appease US policymakers on Wednesday by claiming that the bailed-out insurer had made "substantial" progress in its restructuring efforts in spite of his sustained concerns about the commercial real-estate markets.

"We are hearing, 'Trust us,' but we are not willing to let $180 billion go just on trust," said Rep. Edolphus Towns, Democrat of Maryland and chairman of the House Oversight Committee. Towns said he was disappointed with AIG's lack of compliance regarding details of its restructuring plan, Project Destiny, and chided the company for not being forthright with answers on when it would finally refund billions of taxpayer dollars.

AIG CEO Liddy said if the current market conditions persist, the American taxpayer would be fully repaid within three to five years. However, that repayment could take longer if the economy deteriorates.

The New York insurer, which had to seek government aid after huge losses from credit-default swaps related to mortgage-backed securities, reported its sixth straight quarterly loss last week. Liddy is also on the line of fire for large bonuses paid to AIG executives last year.

"We will do everything we can to not require additional federal funding," Liddy told the Congress today. But till the company resuscitates, lawmakers would definitely continue to inquire into every step it takes towards reaching that goal.

"AIG" Free Stock Analysis: Buy? Sell? Hold?
Zacks Investment Research

Zacks Analyst Blog Highlights: Vale do Rio Doce, Cytori Therapeutics, Allegheny Energy Inc., AmBev and The PMI Group, Inc. – Press Releases

Zacks Market Commentaries — Wed, 13 May 2009 12:45:42 +0000

For Immediate Release

Chicago, IL - May 13, 2009 - Zacks.com announces the list of stocks featured in the Analyst Blog. Every day the Zacks Equity Research analysts discuss the latest news and events impacting stocks and the financial markets. Stocks recently featured in the blog include: Vale do Rio Doce (VALE), Cytori Therapeutics (CYTX), Allegheny Energy Inc. (AYE), AmBev (ABV) and The PMI Group, Inc. (PMI).

Get the most recent insight from Zacks Equity Research with the free Profit from the Pros newsletter: http://at.zacks.com/?id=4579.

Here are highlights from Tuesday's Analyst Blog:

VALE Now More China-Dependent

Some days ago, Vale do Rio Doce (VALE) posted weaker-than-expected first quarter 2009 results. The numbers showed a remarkable contrast between the actual results of the company and the great performance the stock has been showing since the beginning of 2009.

The market remains positive on commodity stocks as demand from basic materials in China remains heated. There is a consensus that China will continue to grow in the near future, with annual rates of at least 6% per year, and that the growth would be based on Government investments in infrastructure -- thus they will be quite commodity intensive.

Cytori's Celution Starting to Ramp

On May 11, 2009, Cytori Therapeutics (CYTX) released financial results for the first quarter 2009. Total revenues in the first quarter were $1.92 million, and were comprised primarily of $1.3 million European and Asian Celution System sales and $0.6 million in StemSource revenues in Japan. These results were essentially in-line with our $1.99 million estimate.

During the quarter, management or its partners placed a total of 19 Celution Systems and 241 Consumables into the marketplace. Of the 19 Celution Systems, 13 were sold into the market place and 6 were placed into centers active in clinical trial.

Allegheny's Buy Rating Retained

Allegheny Energy Inc. (AYE) is engaged in both regulated electricity and natural gas distribution utility operations, as well as in the unregulated wholesale energy markets.

Going forward, AYE's positive investment factors include higher generation rates in Pennsylvania and Maryland, higher residential usage, approvals for transmission projects, and steady progress with scrubbers.

AmBev Drinks In Profits

We are maintaining our Buy recommendation on Companhia de Bebidas das Americas, or AmBev (ABV). The company posted good results for the first quarter of 2009 with excellent results in the key Brazilian market. InBev's acquisition of Anheuser-Busch was positive for the company as it creates huge synergies.

Despite the difficult economic environment throughout the world due to the global credit crunch, the company, which is focusing on low cost, daily use products, is not tied directly to the international economic cycle. Also, a more relaxed monetary policy in Brazil is very positive for the company.

PMI Loss Better than Estimates

The The PMI Group, Inc. (PMI) reported its 1Q09 financial results today before market open, with a conference call held this afternoon. Net loss from continuing operations for the reported quarter was $115.3 million or $1.41 per diluted share, compared to a net loss from continuing operations of $305.9 million or $3.77 per diluted share in the prior-year quarter.

Its 1Q09 loss was primarily driven by continued high losses and loss adjustment expenses (LAE) in the U.S. Mortgage Insurance Operations, and a decrease in premiums earned. However, the loss was substantially narrower than the estimates, and as a result, the shares have rallied sharply today.

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Zacks Equity Research provides the best of quantitative and qualitative analysis to help investors know what stocks to buy and which to sell for the long-term.

Zacks "Profit from the Pros" e-mail newsletter provides highlights of the latest analysis from Zacks Equity Research. Subscribe to this free newsletter today: http://at.zacks.com/?id=2677

About Zacks

Visit http://www.zacks.com/performance for information about the performance numbers displayed in this press release.

Contact:
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Visit: www.zacks.com

Zacks Investment Research

Wrong Policies Will Delay Any Real Recovery …

Money and Markets — Wed, 13 May 2009 11:50:10 +0000

More than six years ago, Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke — then still Fed Governor — gave a laudation for Milton Friedman, one of America's leading economists. Friedman's view on the Great Depression holds that the stock market bubble of the Roaring 20s was not the reason ...

Allegheny Energy Offers Stability – Analyst Blog

Zacks Market Commentaries — Tue, 12 May 2009 21:11:48 +0000

Allegheny Energy, Inc. (AYE) reported financial results for the 1st quarter of 2009.

Adjusted net income for the 1st quarter of 2009 decreased by $22.0 million compared with the year-ago period.

Adjusted operating revenues increased by $49.8 million in the reported quarter, reflecting higher generation rates in Pennsylvania and Maryland, increased purchased power cost recovery in Virginia and higher sales to third parties. These benefits were partially offset by reduced generation volume due to lower power plant availability and less demand.

Adjusted EBITDA for the 1st quarter of 2009 was $328.2 million, an increase of $5.1 million compared to the same quarter of the prior year. AYE continues to benefit through its stable and regulated electric power operations.

In addition, the company has consistently paid quarterly dividends after reinstating them in December 2007, which was previously suspended in December of 2002 as the company was in severe financial distress.

Furthermore, the company recently received investment grade credit ratings from Moody, Fitch and Standard & Poor's.

Going forward, AYE's positive investment factors include higher generation rates in Pennsylvania and Maryland, higher residential usage, approvals for transmission projects, and steady progress with scrubbers. Looking ahead, we expect that the company's regulated delivery utility business will provide steady earnings growth while disposal of retail distribution operations in Virginia has provided much needed liquidity.

However, higher environmental-related capital expenditures, emission and hedging costs, higher taxes, lower commodity prices and higher coal prices, and a substantial interest burden on account of expansion plans and coal costs remain pockets of concern.

Reinstatement of the company's quarterly dividend is certainly a positive; although it currently yields a relatively unattractive 2.1%, which is lower than the electric power utility industry average yield of 5.1%. Moreover, we believe the sustainability of the dividend is supported by higher operating cash flows as well as reasonable projected earnings payout ratios.

AYE currently trades at 11.5x and 9.5x, respectively, our 2009 and 2010 earnings per share estimates -- within the upper-end of the range of its comparable diversified energy utilities peers -- yet below the electric power utility industry average multiple, which is justified by significantly above industry average long-term growth expectations. Likewise, AYE trades at the upper-end of the ranges of its industry peers based upon relative multiples of sales, cash flow and book value.

Nevertheless, given the successful status of the turnaround and long-term projected EPS growth rates among the highest of all utilities and many times greater than growth expectations for the broad industry, we maintain a BUY recommendation on AYE with a six-month target price of $31.75, representing 12.9x and 10.7x, respectively, our 2009 and 2010 EPS estimates. Price appreciation to our near-term valuation target, coupled with a $0.15 per share quarterly dividend -- which we consider being sustainable and secure based upon projected dividend payout ratios of 24.4% and 20.2% of our projected 2009 and 2010 EPS estimates -- represents annualized total return potential of 28.1%.

Headquartered in Greensburg, Pennsylvania, Allegheny Energy, Inc. is engaged in both regulated electricity and natural gas distribution utility operations, as well as in the unregulated wholesale energy markets.
Read the full analyst report on "AYE"
Zacks Investment Research

Allegheny’s Buy Rating Retained – Analyst Blog

Zacks Market Commentaries — Mon, 11 May 2009 19:22:15 +0000

Allegheny Energy Inc. (AYE) is engaged in both regulated electricity and natural gas distribution utility operations, as well as in the unregulated wholesale energy markets.

Going forward, AYE's positive investment factors include higher generation rates in Pennsylvania and Maryland, higher residential usage, approvals for transmission projects, and steady progress with scrubbers.

Looking ahead, we expect that the company's regulated delivery utility business will provide steady earnings growth while the disposal of retail distribution operations in Virginia will provide much needed liquidity infusion. This would be partially offset by higher emission and hedging costs, higher taxes, lower commodity prices and higher coal prices.

Accordingly, we maintain a BUY recommendation on AYE common stock with a six-month target price of $31.75, coupled with the regular quarterly cash dividend of $0.15 per share, which we deem sustainable and secure, represents annualized total return potential of 28.1%.
Read the full analyst report on "AYE"
Zacks Investment Research

New Generation Biofuels Holdings, Inc. (NGBF) Signs Agreement with City of Baltimore

QualityStocks — Thu, 07 May 2009 15:15:02 +0000

New Generation Biofuels Holdings, Inc. announced today that it has entered into a contract with the City of Baltimore, Maryland to provide its renewable biofuel in an evaluation program for boiler applications. According to the company, this is the first time the City has evaluated a non fossil fuel in its industrial boilers. It is anticipated [...]

Micros Beats on Lower Revenues – Analyst Blog

Zacks Market Commentaries — Fri, 01 May 2009 18:09:32 +0000

Micros, Inc.: Q3 EPS Beat on Lower Revenues

Micros Inc. (MCRS, Hold) released its fiscal Q3 results yesterday. Revenues were sharply lower at $205.7 million, versus our and consensus expectation of $227 million and $222 million, respectively. Non-GAAP EPS was impressively higher at $0.32, compared to our estimate of $0.27 (consensus was at $0.28).

EPS upside was largely a result of cost-cutting measures, while the revenue shortfall was attributed to weak restaurant business. The stock is up around 10% in trading today.

Headquartered in Columbia, Maryland, the company designs, manufactures, markets, and services enterprise information solutions for the hospitality and specialty retail industries. The hospitality industry comprises of various market areas including lodging, table service restaurants, quick service restaurants, entertainment venues, business foodservice operations, casinos, transportation foodservice, government operations, and cruise ships. The specialty retail industry consists of retail operations selling directly to consumers, including retailers of clothing, shoes, food, hardware, jewelry, and other specialty items.

Micros' business has generally been hurt by the slowing economy, especially in its target markets. Although revenues have been hurt in recent quarters on a y/y basis, the company has been successful in maintaining profitability. The company had cash & equivalents of $383 million at the end of Q3 with no debt.

The company provided guidance for FY2009 without providing specific revenue guidance for Q4. However, FY2009 revenue guidance of $900 million is lower than our expectation of $944 million and consensus of $938 million. Non-GAAP EPS guidance of $0.32 for Q4 is in line with consensus but higher than our estimate of $0.29.
Read the full analyst report on "MCRS"
Zacks Investment Research

Alkane, Inc. and Tilghman Oil, Inc. Team to Provide Customers with a “Greener” Premium Diesel Fuel

Stuart T. Smith — Wed, 29 Apr 2009 13:56:50 +0000

Alkane, Inc. (PINK SHEETS: ALKN) and Tilghman Oil, Inc. announced today they will partner to offer businesses and consumers an environmentally friendly, affordable premium grade diesel fuel and home heating oil. The family owned and operated Tilghman Oil, Inc. will begin blending diesel fuel additive, Monster DieselTM, into its oil and fuel products. The addition of [...]

Is America a Nation of Laws or a Nation of Banks?

Contrarian Profits — Mon, 27 Apr 2009 18:56:16 +0000

tr strongNotes from thebr / Investment Underground/strongbr / /tr tr Monday, April 27, 2009br / Palermo Viejo, Buenos Aires, Argentina pstrongWelcome to emSopranos /emUSA… Can the “junk-stock” rally last? Credit to get worse before it gets better… Feds’ “hair of the dog” recovery plan… Shockwave coming… Jim Rogers on why he’s not buying stocks… Introducing your new emNotes /emtax expert, Raife Neuman… And more! /strong /p pstrong*** What kind of men have we entrusted to manage our economy? And whose interests do they serve? /strongGet the answer to either of these questions wrong and you’re in for a rough ride as an investor./p pstrong*** Consider the facts surrounding the Bank of America’s takeover of Merrill Lynch. /strong /p pThanks to New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo, we know that former Treasury secretary Hank “The Hammer”#8230;/p/tr

How Long-Short Investing Can Lead to Profits in Today’s Uncertain Markets

Contrarian Profits — Mon, 27 Apr 2009 18:12:56 +0000

pLong-short investing strategies aren’t just for hedge funds anymore. Many investors believed diversified “long-only” portfolios would always serve them well, regardless of the market conditions. They expected certain asset classes would perform well even as others were struggling./p pAfter all, most mutual funds, exchange-traded funds (ETFs) and a href="http://www.investopedia.com/terms/m/managedaccount.asp" target="_blank"managed accounts/a offer long-only strategies. And why not? After all, the strategy is simple: These portfolio managers buy securities and hope to take advantage of price appreciation./p pBut the ongoing financial crisis proved those investors wrong – for several reasons. After all, what do you do in a trendless (sideways) market? And what about a declining market?/p pIn either situation, the profit payoff from a purely long portfolio doesn’t figure to be very large. And that’s no#8230;/p

How to Protect Your Finances from Reckless Government Spending

Contrarian Profits — Thu, 23 Apr 2009 20:17:38 +0000

tr strongNotes from thebr / Investment Underground/strong /tr tr pThursday, April 23, 2009/p pPalermo Viejo, Buenos Aires, Argentina/p pstrongThe greatest economic disaster in recorded history (and how to profit from it)#8230; Your market ”script”#8230; Lessons on guerrilla investing#8230; Banks switch sides#8230; The best communications company in the world#8230; 3 sectors you should own now#8230; Your key to “permanent wealth”#8230; A massive glitch in the administration’s matrix#8230;/strongstrong /strong strongemNotes/em subscribers beat up on your editor#8230; 1,159% gains as stocks go bust#8230; And more! /strong/p pstrong*** “The current administration#8217;s economic strategy could create the greatest economic disaster in recorded history,” /strong says a href="http://www.contrarianprofits.com/articles/author/porter-stansbury/" class="alinks_links"Porter Stansberry/a in today’s ema href="http://www.dailywealth.com" class="alinks_links"DailyWealth/a./em/p ulNot only is the administration planning on enormous deficit spending this year, but the current plan calls for increasing deficit spending emfor the next decade /em– spending that will more than#8230;/ul/tr

Revealed: Timing Details on the Second Wave of Toxic Mortgages

Contrarian Profits — Fri, 17 Apr 2009 19:39:00 +0000

tr strongNotes from thebr / Investment Undergroundbr / /strong /tr tr Friday, April 17, 2009br / Palermo Viejo, Buenos Aires, Argentina pstrongHere comes subprime II#8230; 3 toxic time bombs to come#8230; The Richebächer legacy lives on#8230; “Scamonomics” explored#8230; Goldman bites the hand that feeds it#8230; TARP loses 75% of taxpayers’ money#8230; How to get $4,201 in your pocket by June 4#8230; Banks’ top 4 accounting gimmicks#8230; Short squeeze pushes market higher#8230; John O’Neill on government’s deceit#8230; James Dale Davidson: How to grab 19% yields on Treasurys (if you’ve got government connections)#8230; And more!/strong /p pstrong*** Rob Parenteau, the editor of the reincarnated emRichebächer Letter, /emwarns that we are in for the second wave of these toxic mortgages ahead. /strongThe first time subprime mortgages reset at a higher rate was in 2008 and the subsequent flurry#8230;/p/tr

Warning: Stench of Banks’ Rotting Toxic Garbage Still Strong

Contrarian Profits — Tue, 14 Apr 2009 20:36:11 +0000

tr strong p style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; FONT-FAMILY: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace; FONT-SIZE: 24pt"Notes from the Investment Underground/p p /p/strong /tr tr April 14, 2009 pPalermo Viejo, Buenos Aires, Argentina/p pstrongRichard Russell: Why this is a bear market correction#8230; That latest outbreak of investor credulity#8230; 25 biggest earnings-per-share movers and shakers heading into earnings season#8230; Banks to be allowed to screw up indefinitely#8230; The great “too big to fail” fraud#8230; Bailouts costing $42,105 for each U.S. citizen#8230; Bush-Obama tag team piles on debt at the rate of $60,000 a second#8230; Bob Higgs on C-SPAN#8230; China wises up#8230; And more!/strong /p pstrong*** This Richard Russell quote is a must-read for investors thinking about buying back into stocks. /strong Russell, now in his 50th year of publishing the excellent emDow Theory Letter,/em believes we are now witnessing a bear market correction. /p ulThe essence of Dow Theory#8230;/ul/tr

SunEdison Activates a Record 86 PV Energy Systems in 2008

Dawn Van Zant — Mon, 13 Apr 2009 13:00:00 +0000

BELTSVILLE, Md. - April 13 2009 - SunEdison, North America's largest solar energy services provider, today announced that it activated a record 86 photovoltaic (PV) solar energy systems in the U.S. during 2008 with a total capacity of 25.5 MW (DC).

Pentagon preps for economic warfare

Alex Stanczyk — Mon, 13 Apr 2009 11:53:40 +0000

By: Eamon Javers April 9, 2009 04:18 AM EST The Pentagon sponsored a first-of-its-kind war game last month focused not on bullets and bombs — but on how hostile nations might seek to cripple the U.S. economy, a scenario made all the more real by the global financial crisis. The two-day event near Ft. [...]

Would You Be Interested in Earning a Steady 15% a Year?

Contrarian Profits — Thu, 09 Apr 2009 19:47:57 +0000

tr strongNotes from thebr / Investment Underground/strongbr / /tr tr April 9, 2009br / Palermo Viejo, Buenos Aires, Argentina pstrongWhy you should invest in pipeline companies… Wither Geither’s stress test results? Congress vs the Treasury… Check out of USA Inc with these four BRIC EFTs… How to survive the “Great Money Famine of 2009”… Three questions for Barney Frank… Congressional panel: Liquidate banks, fire top execs… PPIP FLOP… Geithner’s latest Orwellian manoeuvre… And more!/strong /p pstrong*** We’ve added a new section to emNotes./embr / /strongbr / It’s called “Must Reads” and it’s basically a list of the day’s must read articles on money-making and the markets. It’s at the very bottom of the issue. Tell us what you think: a href="mailto:info@contrarianprofits.com" target="_blank"info@contrarianprofits.com./abr / Don’t be shy. We’ve got thick skins./p pstrong*** We love ema href="http://www.dailywealth.com" class="alinks_links"DailyWealth/a./embr / It’s quite possibly the single best free source#8230;/strong/p/tr

Geithner Is LYING… This Investigation into Banks Is Proof

Contrarian Profits — Mon, 06 Apr 2009 19:57:09 +0000

tr strongNotes from thebr / Investment Underground/strongbr / /tr tr San Telmo, Buenos Aires, Argentina pApril 6, 2009/p pstrongWhy the economy is still heading for a cliff#8230; All the king’s horses and all the king’s men can’t put the banks back together again#8230; The madness of Sheila Bair#8230; The government lies over banks are paper thin#8230; Infighting at the Treasury#8230; Why Citi’s CEO should go#8230; Banks plunge#8230; “Fake dividend” strategy exposed#8230; Can mark-to-model save them? Selling OTM calls against your financial stocks#8230; What happened on March 9#8230; And more!/strong/p pstrong*** You’re reading this newsletter because you don’t believe the cheerleaders in Washington and in the mainstream press. /strongYou know it’s safer to know the truth about the economy than to believe the hype and the lies and the false optimism.#8230;/p/tr

Vitro Diagnostics Inc. (VODG.OB) Introduces “Tools for Stem Cell and Drug Development”

QualityStocks — Wed, 01 Apr 2009 14:47:32 +0000

Vitro Diagnostics Inc., which is doing business as Vitro Biopharma, is committed to harnessing the power of cells. The company owns US patents for the production of the fertility drug – FSH, immortalization of cells, and a pending US patent regarding stem cell-based cancer treatments. Vitro also recently received a Notice of Allowance for its [...]

Obama Won’t Let GM Go Bust… Here’s Why

Contrarian Profits — Tue, 31 Mar 2009 20:09:05 +0000

tr strongNotes from thebr /Investment Underground/strongbr / /tr tr pTuesday, March 31, 2009br /Recoleta, Buenos Aires, Argentina /p pstrongTeam Obama talks bankruptcy… But he doesn’t really mean it… Politics continue to drive the economy… The most ruinous CEO in history… Deutsche Bank: This crisis is “far from over”… Bailouts reach $10.5 trillion and counting… Gold is where the smart money is right now… Money supply increases… And more! /strong /p pstrong*** Is Team Obama finally coming to its senses? /strongbr / Instead of keeping the fatally wounded U.S. auto industry on a drip feed of tax dollars, Obama is considering allowing GM and Chrysler to enter bankruptcy. /p pA headline in the emWSJ/embr / reads “U.S. Threatens Bankruptcy for GM, Chrysler.” How backwards has the U.S. economy become when bankruptcy for a failed company is#8230;/p/tr

MagneGas Corp. (MNGA.OB) Opens Equipment Sales Channel with First Manufacturer’s Rep Agreement

QualityStocks — Mon, 30 Mar 2009 14:12:07 +0000

MagneGas Corporation, a producer of a metal cutting fuel and natural gas alternative made from liquid waste, announced before the opening bell that it has signed its first manufacturer’s rep agreement. The agreement with Pennsylvania-based George KELSO Company, LLC (”KELSO”) immediately opens an equipment sales channel to much of the Mid-Atlantic Region, including southern New [...]

New Generation Biofuels Holdings, Inc. (NGBF) Announces Sales Contract to Supply up to 370,000 gallons of Renewable Biofuel

QualityStocks — Thu, 26 Mar 2009 15:03:42 +0000

New Generation Biofuels Holdings, Inc. announced today before the opening bell that it is has signed a sales contract with Catoctin Mountain Growers, Inc. of Keymar, Maryland to supply up to 370,000 gallons of renewable biofuel annually. “We are delighted to be supplying a proactive and environmentally aware company like Catoctin Mountain Growers with our [...]

Have You Prepared for the 15-Year Depression?

Contrarian Profits — Wed, 25 Mar 2009 16:33:42 +0000

tr strongNotes from thebr /Investment Underground/strongbr / /tr tr pTuesday, March 24, 2009br /Recoleta, Buenos Aires, Argentina/p pstrongThe 15-year depression is coming… Drink yourself to death! Martin Weiss’s deflationary outlook… A sucker’s rally with legs… Protecting your wealth from inflation… Jeff Clark: the S#38;P will go below 600… The truth behind China’s dollar holdings… Big government gets bigger… And more!#160; /strong /p pstrong*** “This is the big one,” says Republican Congressman Ron Paul,/strongbr / who yesterday said the depression will last 15 years. It makes a nice change from all the hooting and wailing about a bottom being in for stocks. /p p“The U.S. government just won’t allow the correction the economy needs,” a href="http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/ee3e07f0-16b2-11de-9a72-0000779fd2ac.html?nclick_check=1" target="_blank"says/abr / Paul, citing the mini-depression of 1921, which lasted just a year. This was because insolvent companies were allowed to fail.#8230;/p/tr

New Generation Biofuels, Inc. (NGBF) Executes Sales Contract With Delta Chemical Corp. to Provide Up to 371,000 Gallons of its Renewable Biofuel

QualityStocks — Tue, 24 Mar 2009 13:17:37 +0000

New Generation Biofuels Holdings, Inc. announced this morning that it has signed a full-year contract to supply Delta Chemical Corporation of Baltimore, Maryland with up to 371,000 gallons per year of renewable biofuel. New Generation’s biofuel will supply Delta Chemical’s No. 1, Cleaver-Brooks lead boiler. According to the press release, this contract will meet approx. 50% [...]

Is This the End of the Buck?

Contrarian Profits — Fri, 20 Mar 2009 20:58:38 +0000

tr strongNotes from thebr / Investment Underground/strongbr / /tr tr Friday, March 20, 2008br / Portland, Oregon, USA pstrongForeigners gang up on the dollar… Ben’s bitter irony… A chartist’s view on the buck… Why the Fed’s “quantitative easing” is a game changer… Investing in the “poor man’s gold”#8230; And more!.. /strong /p pstrong[Your emNotes/embr / editor will be spending the day in battling Argentine bureaucracy. /strongbr / (It’s a long story. But basically I am trying to get residency down here.)strong /strongbr / So, today I’ll be leaving you in the capable hands of emCrisis Strategy Alert/embr / senior analyst Charles Delvalle.] /p pstrong*** Is this the end of the buck?/strong /p pNext week a UN panel will recommend that the world drop the US dollar as the reserve currency and instead use a shared basket of currencies. /p pThis from a href="http://www.reuters.com/article/newsOne/idUSTRE52H2CY20090318" target="_blank"Reuters:/a /p ulCurrency specialist Avinash#8230;/ul/tr

MultiCell Technologies, Inc. (MCET.OB) To Attack Liver Cancer

QualityStocks — Thu, 19 Mar 2009 19:15:08 +0000

MultiCell Technologies, Inc., an integrated biopharmaceutical company based in Rhode Island, announced today that it has entered into a cooperative research and development agreement with Maxim Biotech, Inc., a non-public Maryland-based medical research products company. The focus of the research will be the development of products for working with liver stem cells in the detection [...]

The Best Ways to Buy Gold and Silver Now

Investment U — Thu, 19 Mar 2009 15:16:27 +0000

The Best Ways to Buy Gold and Silver Now by Dr. Mark Skousen, Advisory Panelist Once again, the U.S. Mint can’t keep up with the huge demand for American eagle gold and silver coins. Americans are so anxious about the uncertainty of the seemingly never-ending financial crisis that they are demanding physical positions of their gold and [...]

The Golden Bough

Investment Education Staff — Thu, 19 Mar 2009 08:00:30 +0000

Virgil referred to it as the “Wand of Destiny.” It got Aeneas through the Underworld, so there must be something to it. If things are now about go to hell in a handbasket, as seems destined, you just may need one of your own. And after going through my scans tonight –well, let’s [...]

Toron: Deflation, Economy’s worst fear

Jim Musselwhite — Thu, 19 Mar 2009 05:50:13 +0000

Author: toron
Added: Wed, 18 Mar 2009 21:50:13 -0800
Duration: 238

Toron Managing partner arthur Heinmaa examines the growing concerns of deflation in the Canadian economy and what the risks might be for 2009.

Dell getting desperate

Daniel Hung — Thu, 19 Mar 2009 04:55:49 +0000

Dell unveiled their new ultraslim, the Adamo, a few days ago. The new laptop is a 13.4 inch “luxury” portable featuring no optical drive, a long life sealed-in battery, edge-to-edge glass screen, and a solid state hard drive comes at the very affordable starting price of $1999. Does this sound familiar? A MacBook Air, perhaps? [...]

This Could Be the One of the Greatest Shorts of Our Time

Contrarian Profits — Wed, 18 Mar 2009 22:19:07 +0000

tr strongNotes from the pInvestment Underground/p/strong /tr tr Wednesday, March 18, 2008br / Recoleta, Buenos Aires, Argentinabr / p /p pstrongPlastic Paddies#8230; The now and future inflation#8230; Spendaholics Anonymous#8230; Waiting for the Treasuries bubble to pop#8230; The perversity of ‘self-stimulation’#8230; Paul Volcker’s two-tier financial system#8230; emNotes/em in “Fantasyland”#8230; Going to ground in Ireland#8230; And more! /strong/p p*** Paddy’s Day celebrations are over. Yesterday, the streets of Buenos Aires filled up with lots of Latin “plastic paddies.” All very strange indeed. More on this below./p p*** This morning, the a href="http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/40d54f36-1335-11de-a170-0000779fd2ac.html" target="_blank"emFinancial Times/em/a reports that Mr. Market is waiting to see whether the Fed will start buying long-term U.S. Treasuries to further ‘stimulate’ the economy. /p pAnd with rates at near zero levels, it’s running out of ammo. Talking to a href="http://www.cnbc.com/id/29720589" target="_blank"CNBC/a yesterday, Dr. Marc Faber, editor of the em Gloom, Boom#8230;/em/p/tr

NTELOS Holdings Corp. – Growth And Income – Zacks Rank Buy

Alex Kolb — Tue, 17 Mar 2009 05:00:00 +0000

NTELOS Holdings Corp. (NTLS) is seeing upbeat forecasts from analysts on solid fourth-quarter and full-year results. The current consensus estimate for 2009 earnings of $1.56 per share is 1% above last month's projection and 11% higher than the level of 2 months ago.

Company Description

Headquartered in Waynesboro, VA, NTELOS Holdings Corp. is an integrated communications provider. The company provides products and services to customers in Virginia, West Virginia, Kentucky, Ohio, Tennessee, Maryland and North Carolina, including wireless phone service, local and long distance telephone services, IPTV-based video services as well as data services for internet access and wide area networking.

Higher Forecasts

The company is seeing upbeat forecasts from analysts on solid fourth-quarter and full-year results. The current consensus estimate for 2009 earnings of $1.56 per share is 1% above last month's projection and 11% higher than the level of 2 months ago. The most accurate forecast is higher at $1.64.

Estimates for the first quarter of 40 cents per share are up from last month's 37 cents.

Growth in the Fourth Quarter

The company recently announced fourth-quarter earnings of 15 cents per share, topping the previous year's 10 cents. Operating revenues for the quarter totaled $140.6 million, up from the year-prior $127.9 million.

NTLS noted that one of the highlights for the quarter was its launching or expansion into 6 markets, which led to 70% of total cell sites being upgraded at year-end.

The company also declared a quarterly cash dividend of 26 cents per share, which translates into a robust, industry-leading yield of 5.4%. The dividend is payable April 13 to stockholders of record on March 19.

Favorable Industry Comparisons

NTELOS Holdings offers a return on equity (ROE) of 23%, above the industry average of 13%.

The company earnings per share are expected to grow 12% over the next 3 5 years, which is in line with the industry average.

NTELOS Holdings has a net profit margin of 9%, compared to the industry average of 7%. Zacks Investment Research

New FDA Chief Good for Industry – Analyst Blog

Zacks Market Commentaries — Mon, 16 Mar 2009 19:39:46 +0000

Highlights include Gilead Sciences (GILD), AstraZeneca (AZN), Sanofi-Aventis (SNY) and Genzyme (GENZ).

Last week, President Obama nominated Margaret "Peggy" Hamburg, a former New York City Health Commissioner, to lead the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Hamburg's appointment must be confirmed by Congress. The president also named Baltimore Health Commissioner Joshua Sharfstein as FDA deputy commissioner.

Hamburg earned her M.D. from Harvard Medical School and completed her training at the New York Hospital/Cornell University Medical Center. She did research in neuroscience at Rockefeller University in New York from 1985 to 1986, and in neuropharmacology at the National Institute of Mental Health in Bethesda, Maryland.

From 1986 to 1988, she served in the U.S. Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, and from 1989 to 1990 she was assistant director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases at NIH, where her work focused on AIDS research. President Clinton selected her in 1997 to be assistant secretary for policy and evaluation at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

While Commissioner in New York, Dr. Hamburg's treatment plan for tuberculosis (TB) became a model for health departments around the world. In the 1990s, TB was the leading infectious killer of youths and adults, and had become resistant to standard drugs. To be effective, new drugs required patients to take pills every day for up to two years, but failure to complete the full course of treatment allowed the bacteria to mutate into drug-resistant strains. Hamburg sent healthcare workers to patients' homes to help manage their drug regimen, and between 1992 and 1997, the TB rate for New York City fell by 46 percent, and by 86 percent for the most resistant strains.

Since 2001, she has been vice president for biological programs at the Nuclear Threat Initiative, a foundation dedicated to reducing the threat to public safety from nuclear, chemical and biological weapons. She is a leading advocate for changes in the nation's public health policies and infrastructure -- from local health departments to the highest levels of government -- to meet the challenges presented by modern bioterrorism.

We think the appointment of Dr. Hamburg is very good news for pharmaceutical companies, specifically ones focusing on infectious diseases such as AIDS/HIV and Hepatitis-C, including Gilead Sciences (GILD) and Vertex Pharmaceuticals, and leading vaccines makers, including AstraZeneca (AZN) and Sanofi-Aventis (SNY).

We also think firms with major Department of Defense bioterrorism contracts -- be it for radiation syndrome, anthrax, smallpox or any other bioterrorism threat, including Genzyme (GENZ), Peregrine Pharmaceuticals, AVI BioPharma, Cleveland Biolabs, Inc., Human Genome Sciences and Alnylam Pharmaceuticals -- could also benefit.
Read the full analyst report on "GILD"
Read the full analyst report on "AZN"
Read the full analyst report on "SNY"
Zacks Investment Research

At 10am Tomorrow, Equities Could Surge on This News

Contrarian Profits — Thu, 12 Mar 2009 19:16:42 +0000

tr strong#160;Notes from thebr /Investment Underground#160;/strongbr / /tr tr pThursday, March 12, 2008#160;br /Recoleta, Buenos Aires, Argentina/p pstrongFree money is destroying America#8230; 19% interest on your money#8230; Going long on banks#8230; Getting out of gold#8230; #34;Shorty#34; Guzman vs Bernie Madoff#8230; More Greenspan guff#8230; /strong /p p*** a href="http://www.contrarianprofits.com/articles/author/porter-stansbury/" class="alinks_links"Porter Stansberry/a says #34;free money is destroying America.#34; We couldn#8217;t agree more. The idea that the government can ‘fix#8217; things is as bogus now as it was during the Great Depression. The government, by creating the biggest credit bubble of all time through the Federal Reserve, caused the economic disaster we now all face. The idea that it can now solve the problem through more free money is an outright sham./p pAs a href="http://www.dailywealth.com/archive/2009/mar/2009_mar_12.asp" target="_blank"Porter says/a in today#8217;s a href="http://www.dailywealth.com" class="alinks_links"DailyWealth/a:/p ul pNowhere in history will you ever discover a market whose efficiency#8230;/p/ul/tr

Skinny Nutritional Corp. (SKNY.OB) Signs Distribution Agreement; Enters South-Atlantic Market

QualityStocks — Tue, 10 Mar 2009 16:04:27 +0000

Skinny Nutritional Corp. signed a new distribution agreement with Beverage Network of Maryland that covers Baltimore, Maryland, Washington, D.C. and Northern Virginia. With this new agreement signed, the company’s total number of distributors now total 30 which distribute their products to more than 2,000 chain-authorized stores. “This is a very important region for us, [...]

This Retailer Just Beat Wall Street Expectations by 3.6%

Contrarian Profits — Mon, 09 Mar 2009 20:24:01 +0000

tr HIDDEN VALUE /tr tr pDear Reader,#160; /p pHere#8217;s a stat for you to chew on.#160; /p pAccording to the Asian Development Bank, global assets shrunk by $50 trillion in 2008. /p pThat#8217;s one year of global GDP growth lost.#160; /p pAs a result, the global economy is likely to shrink for the first time since World War II. And trade will drop to levels unseen since the Great Depression.#160; /p pAccording to Claudio Loser, a former IMF director, #8220;This crisis is the first truly universal one in the history of humanity. No country escapes from it. It has not yet bottomed out.#8221;#160; /p pBut there is a glimmer of hope#8230;#160; /p pThis from Bloomberg:#160; /p ul pAsia is likely to recover with #8220;vibrant#8221; growth once the crisis recedes in 2010, Manu#8230;/p/ul/tr

As Economic Reports Worsen, Experts Predict a Longer Downturn

Contrarian Profits — Mon, 09 Mar 2009 17:08:08 +0000

pBack in December, with the U.S. recession in its 12th month – and showing no signs of abating – strongema href="http://www.moneymorning.com" class="alinks_links"Money Morning/a/em/strong Contributing Editor Martin Hutchinson warned that an “L”-shaped recession a href="http://www.moneymorning.com/2008/12/26/recession-shape/" target="_blank"was very possible/a./p pThe U.S. recession is now in its 15th month, and many economists now expect the downturn to last until 2010 – if not longer. In fact, some economists now say the U.S. malaise could easily evolve into the virulent “L-shaped” downturn that Hutchinson predicted – a development that would guarantee both the maximum pain and the slowest recovery, experts say./p p“I said in December that the recession could be ‘bloody-L shaped.’ With the huge deficits, that now looks the most likely outcome – and believe me when I say that#8230;/p

Who Else Wants to Be Part of 2009’s Massive Money Migration?

Contrarian Profits — Tue, 03 Mar 2009 18:18:19 +0000

tr HIDDEN VALUE /tr tr pbr / Dear Reader,/p pYou must be sick of hearing about the bailouts by now./p pWe are./p pThe $700 billion TARP… the $786 billion Obama ‘stimulus’… the $750 billion placed on hold, just in case the banks need it./p pBut there’s another little-known bailout we’d like to talk to you about today./p pSome even consider it one of the secret reasons that the U.S. bailed out GM and Chrysler./p pPensions…/p pGM pays out around $7 billion a year to its retired employees. And it’s set to do that for the next ten years./p pA few years ago, GM had assets of over $100 billion – more than enough to cover the benefits./p pBut after the rout in stocks in 2008 and early 2009, it’s unlikely that GM has the#8230;/p/tr

NTELOS Holdings Corp. – Growth And Income – Zacks Rank Buy

Alex Kolb — Tue, 03 Mar 2009 05:00:00 +0000

NTELOS Holdings Corp. (NTLS) recently announced fourth-quarter earnings of 15 cents per share, topping the previous year's 10 cents. The company also declared a quarterly cash dividend of 26 cents per share, which translates into a robust, industry-leading yield of 5.4%.

Company Description

Growth in the Fourth Quarter

NTLS noted that one of the highlights for the quarter was its launching or expansion into 6 markets, which led to 70% of total cell sites being upgraded at year-end.

Higher Forecasts

Analysts lifted estimates on the strong quarter. The average full-year earnings projection of $1.54 per share was upped from last months $1.52. The most accurate forecast is higher at $1.60.

Estimates for the first quarter edged up a penny to 38 cents per share in just the past week. The most accurate projection of the first quarter is a more bullish 41 cents.

Favorable Industry Comparisons

NTELOS Holdings offers a return on equity (ROE) of 23%, above the industry average of 13%.

The company earnings per share are expected to grow 12% over the next 3 5 years, which is in line with the industry average.

NTELOS Holdings has a net profit margin of 9%, compared to the industry average of 7%. Zacks Investment Research

Do You Want a Part of this $200 Billion Energy Trend?

Contrarian Profits — Tue, 24 Feb 2009 19:46:35 +0000

tr HIDDEN VALUE /tr tr pDear Reader,/p pWe could sit here all day and tell you that things are getting worse./p pBut we’re not going to do that./p pThis snippet from the Associated Press says it all, really./p blockquotepAmericans#8217; already battered confidence in the economy went into free fall in February, sinking to new lows as consumers grew more fearful over massive job cuts and shrinking retirement accounts./p pThe New York-based Conference Board said Tuesday that its Consumer Confidence Index, which was down slightly in January, plummeted more than 12 points in February to 25, from the revised 37.4 last month. That was well below the 35.5 level that economists surveyed by Thomson Reuters expected./p/blockquote pIt flies directly in the face of the “optimists” who believe the economy is#8230;/p/tr

How to Follow George Soros to Mega Oil Profits

Contrarian Profits — Sat, 21 Feb 2009 01:10:42 +0000

tr HIDDEN VALUE /tr tr pDear Reader,#160; /p pIs China buying gold to protect itself from the worst financial crisis in history?#160; /p pAlthough we can#8217;t be 100% sure, we can make a compelling case.#160; /p pThis from Ed Steer, who writes for our friends over at Casey Research#8230;#160; /p ul pIn the last three days, I#8217;ve noticed that there has been a change in pattern during Far East trading. It#8217;s not a lot, but it#8217;s something I haven#8217;t seen since I started watching the Kitco gold charts about ten years ago. A buyer [either going long, or covering short positions] is active in Hong Kong trading [in both gold and silver] that I#8217;ve never seen there before. Is it something#8230; or is it nothing? I know that#8230;/p/ul/tr

At Least One Company Is Powering Ahead in This Market

Contrarian Profits — Tue, 17 Feb 2009 21:11:03 +0000

tr HIDDEN VALUE /tr tr pbr / Dear Reader, /p pForget about optimism. /p pThe bulls are M.I.A. And U.S. stocks are in freefall. /p pIt’s not mystery why, either. /p pThis from Reuters… /p blockquote dir="ltr" style="MARGIN-RIGHT: 0px"pFactory activity in New York State fell to a record low in February with new orders and employment falling sharply as the U.S. recession deepened, according to a survey on Tuesday from the regional central bank. /p /blockquote pThis from MarketWatch… /p blockquote dir="ltr" style="MARGIN-RIGHT: 0px"pTrump Entertainment Resorts Inc. announced Tuesday that it, along with its subsidiaries, have filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of New Jersey. /p /blockquote pAnd this from Bloomberg… /p blockquote dir="ltr" style="MARGIN-RIGHT: 0px"pThe slump in Eastern Europe dragged emerging-market shares down the most since November. /p pThe region’s financial stocks lost 47 percent this year as#8230;/p/blockquote/tr

Two Buffett-Backed Railroad Stocks Ready to Soar

Contrarian Profits — Mon, 09 Feb 2009 20:09:37 +0000

tr HIDDEN VALUE /tr tr pDear reader,#160; /p pHas Barack Obama gone wild? #160; /p pThat#8217;s the way it seems from our humble offices in Buenos Aires. #160; /p pEvery day we look at the news#8230; and we see more evidence that the Obama love affair is fading. More about what that means in just a minute.#160; /p pThe fact is the halo above Obama#8217;s head was bound to fade. He#8217;s entering power just when the economy is spiraling downwards.#160; /p pThis decline inevitably affects everything.#160; /p pAccording to Barry Ritholtz#8230;#160; em #8220;Earnings are down over 60% over the past 17 months, making this the biggest decline on record.#8221;/em#160; /p pAnd then Barry pointed to an article from the New York Times#8230;/p ul pem#8220;IN the last 82 years #8212; the history of the#8230;/em/p/ul/tr

Human Genome Sciences Inc. (HGSI) Holds a Cure for Anthraxr

Contrarian Profits — Thu, 05 Feb 2009 19:00:52 +0000

pAfter the 2001 anthrax attacks on government and media figures, no one wanted to take chances. In the worst biological attack in U.S. history, five people died and another 17 were infected. But what of future potential victims who don’t have such diligent facilities managers at their places of work and do come in contact with anthrax spores? emTFN eNews /emreader and a href="http://www.hotstockconfidential.com/"emHot Stock Confidential/em/a member John H. turned me on to a tiny outfit that addresses this deadly aspect of anthrax exposure. /p pTypically, antibiotic therapy is immediately administered to kill the anthrax bacteria. But such treatment doesn’t address the lethal toxins that may have already been released into the victim’s bloodstream and tissues./p pstrongHuman Genome Sciences (a href="http://finance.google.com/finance?q=hgsi"NASDAQ:HGSI/a)/strong conducted research that showed its#8230;/p