Pozen, Inc. (POZN)
Pozen, Inc. (<a href=http://www.zacks.com/stock/quote/pozn>POZN</a>) is one of our top-picks for small-cap biotech. We see the fundamentals as strong and the valuation as low. <p> We are pleased to see the NDA for Vimovo (PN-400) filed and now accepted by the U.S. FDA. FDA acceptance earned Pozen a $10 million milestone from AstraZeneca in August. We expect sales of Treximet to ramp in the coming quarters now that the groundwork has been laid. And finally, phase III trials on the very exciting PA program should start in the fall. <p> The company is financially well positioned and fundamentally strong with respect to the pipeline. We recommend being buyers at this level.Vodafone Group, Plc (VOD)
We maintain our Outperform recommendation for Vodafone (<a href=http://www.zacks.com/stock/quote/vod>VOD</a>), the largest revenue generating international wireless carrier. Revenue growth in the last quarter was fuelled by foreign exchange gains and acquisitions. <p> Additionally, increase in subscriber base was driven by continued healthy net additions in its Indian operation. Vodafone's globally diversified operation provides hedging elements which offset price competition and translation risk that may arise in specific markets. The company continues to accelerate 3G wireless service deployments and expanding network availability across Asia, Eastern Europe and Africa. <p> Moreover, Vodafone is focused on improving shareholder returns through attractive dividend payouts. Management's outlook for fiscal 2010 remains favorable as operating results are expected to improve with continued growth across incipient markets coupled with ongoing cost saving initiatives and currency exchange translation gains.Gentiva Health Services (GTIV)
Gentiva Health Services, Inc. (<a href=http://www.zacks.com/stock/quote/gtiv>GTIV</a>) has scheduled its third quarter earnings call for October 29th, one week from today. Gentiva reported a second-quarter net income of 59 cents per share which was much higher than the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 45 cents. <p> The company boasts of a diversified product portfolio. Its product offerings include home health, hospice, respiratory therapies and home medical equipment. Gentiva serves nearly 500,000 patients annually in more than 380 locations across 39 states. Gentiva has successfully grown primarily through acquisitions. During the past few years, the company has completed multiple acquisitions which have expanded its reach further. <p> Gentiva continues to look for profitable acquisitions. We have an Outperform rating on the stock.ev3, Inc. (EVVV)
ev3, Inc. (<a href=http://www.zacks.com/stock/quote/evvv>EVVV</a>) benefits from the growing demand for minimally invasive treatment of vascular diseases and disorders. Vascular disease and its precursors affect over 90 million people in the United States and more than 1 billion people worldwide. Vascular disease is the leading cause of death in the world. <p> The company's broad product portfolio makes it well positioned for long-term growth. In addition, ev3's products are primarily life-sustaining, a hedge against the current economic turmoil. We rate the company's stock an Outperform with a target price of $13.Electroglas Inc. Wafer Prober Business Assets Have Been Sold to EG Systems, LLC
SAN JOSE, CA--(Marketwire - October 23, 2009) - Backed by a private financial group EG
Systems, LLC has completed the acquisition of all business assets of
Electroglas Inc., (
Bio-Rad Signs Agreement to Acquire Certain Diagnostics Businesses of Biotest AG
HERCULES, CA--(Marketwire - October 23, 2009) - Bio-Rad Laboratories, Inc. (
DIG this oil & gas play
"There is a very interesting situation developing in the oil and gas industry," says Mike Turner. In the Trade of the Week, he looks at the Oil & Gas Ultra ProShares (NYSE: DIG).
"Even though global economies are not rapidly recovering (although they do seem to be on a positive upslope), and even though there seems to be a bit more supply than demand in the energy markets, oil and gas stocks continue to move higher. What's behind this move?
"Oil has become the inverse proxy to the U.S. dollar. As the dollar weakens, the price of oil is moving higher. With the burgeoning debt piling up in the U.S., the dollar looks to be under pressure to move lower for the foreseeable future.
This bodes well for the price of oil to move higher, which is good for stocks in the entire oil and gas industry. Looking at the futures market, it appears this trend will continue for several more months.
" And if energy commodities are moving higher in the current economy, I see little on the horizon that would do anything but put more upward pricing pressure on the industry. In short, the oil and gas market is looking very bullish.
"Add the fact that my system is flashing a 'Buy' signal on the Oil & Gas Ultra ProShares (NYSE: DIG), and it makes perfect sense to make this fund my 'trade of the week.
"This ETF has been gaining ground ever since it gave a 'Buy' signal a little over 3 months ago. It is now trading well above my 10-week, time-shifted trendline, as well as the 200-day moving average.
"DIG appears to have plenty of upside room before encountering any technical resistance. While I plan on setting my exit target at $50, the shares would have to reach the $70 level before hitting the closest resistance level.
"The fund's industry (oil and gas) and the global focus (United States) are both showing strong bullish trends, where the average price of all equities in both these groups is moving solidly higher. This should lead to a 'rising tide lifting all boats' phenomenon, which is very strong for this ETF."
Equifax (EFX): A good credit
"We’re always ready to shift to an individual stock when we see an attractive investment opportunity like Equifax (NYSE: EFX)," says money manager and advisor Jim Stack, who incidentally, accurately called both the 2008 market top and the March bottom.
In his InvesTech Market Analyst, he explains, "The stock is attractively valued based on revenue, cash flow, and earnings power of the company." Here's his review of the credit reporting agency.
"Equifax is in the business of supplying clients with the power of information and is most commonly known as a credit reporting agency.
"The 'credit score' your banker looks at when you apply for a loan is derived from information supplied by Equifax and its competitors.
"Historically, this line of business has been the bread and butter of the company, accounting for a large chunk of the firm’s revenue (~46% in 2008). Nonetheless, credit statistics are just the tip of Equifax’s information iceberg.
"In addition to outstanding debt and payment history information, the firm maintains an extensive database of income, employment, and wealth data.
"Even more amazing than the breadth of the company’s data is the depth, with records available on a few hundred million individuals. The robustness of its database uniquely positions Equifax to solve evolving customer problems.
"By integrating the standard credit report details (payment history, debt levels, etc.) with its large database of employment history, wage information, and wealth data, management is now targeting markets such as:
- • Providing employment information and knowledge to human resource departments, government agencies, collections firms, and mortgage companies. Known as TALX, this segment accounts for 19% of revenues, up from 8% in the 2nd quarter of 2007 thanks to 56% annualized growth.
- • Mortgage settlement services – by combining its information database with a platform of appraisers and title companies, Equifax’s bundled settlement program has been proven to reduce mortgage closing times by 33%. This segment is on track to grow from zero to $200 million in annual revenues (10% of total) in just over 3 years.
- • Bank deposit gathering – by leveraging its network of banking contacts, Equifax is now providing data to help banks gather key deposit relationships – a priority for banks in the post 2008 financial meltdown. Although this product is still being developed, it’s a great example of the flexibility and depth of the Equifax data library.
"Equifax’s business model is also extremely scalable, which provides high returns and competitive barriers to other firms entering the marketplace.
"Equifax’s data distribution method is transaction based – clients are charged on the number of data queries they perform. Once a database is built, each additional 'transaction' adds profit directly to the bottom line.
"By leveraging product scalability, Equifax has historically provided an average return on equity of 37% during the last 10 years. Scalability also affords management a wide competitive moat as the logistics and costs of recreating the database components already owned by Equifax are almost insurmountable.
"The entire Equifax investment story comes together with a very attractive valuation. The shares are currently offered well below mean when compared to the revenue, cash flow, and earnings power of the company.
"The price to cash flow ratio is just off of its 10-year low, with significant upside potential back to more normalized levels.
"All in all, when we consider the company’s unmatched information database in combination with a valuation not seen in over 10 years, we are very excited about the long-term appreciation potential."
Dollar turnaround?
"The U.S. dollar has been hammered; the greenback's decline is bound to run out of steam sooner rather than later," says fund expert Doug Fabian in Successful Investing.
"When this happens, investors will have a chance to profit by riding the U.S. dollar higher. Of course, nobody knows yet when a reversal of fortune for the dollar will take place, but when it does, you'll want to be prepared.
"One fund that lets investors bet on the recovery of the U.S. dollar is the PowerShares DB US Dollar Index Bullish (NYSE: UUP). Investors also may view the UUP as a hedge against a falling stock market and a slowdown in the economy.
"UUP is an exchange-traded fund (ETF) that gains in value as the value of the U.S. dollar climbs and rival foreign currencies fall. In a nutshell, UUP is a bet in favor of a rising dollar.
"For those of you who may be eyeing an investment in the dollar, UUP could be a good way for you to hedge against what I suspect will be asset deflation in the equities and a decline in prices stemming from a declining economy.
"However, such an investment only should involve a small portion of your assets, since it is meant to serve as a hedge against a potential decline in the market and in the economy.
"If you opt to invest in the dollar, do not make it a primary holding in your portfolio. You also will want to put a stop loss on this position, if you choose to buy it.
"In addition, only risk the amount that you are prepared to lose, since a bet on the U.S. dollar right now is a gamble that the current downward trend of the greenback will reverse.
"If you want a hedge in your portfolio as well, investing in the U.S. dollar is a good way to mitigate the potential damage from a market drop.
"A final warning on any dollar bet is that if you are not willing to place a stop loss on your position, don't even think about buying UUP.
"I cannot stress enough that a hedge position such as this mostly serves as insurance in the event the market comes down and the economy continues faltering."