Buzz Stock of the Day – Smith and Wesson (SWHC)

Posted on Friday, June 19th, 2009

Shares of Smith and Wesson Holding Corp. (Nasdaq: SWHC) ended the day 22 percent higher on eight-times the gunsmith’s average three-month volume after the company announced $99.5 million in fourth-quarter revenue. The 20 percent boost over the same period last year was above analysts’ forecast of $90.8 million, according to Thomson Reuters.

“Demand for our handguns and tactical rifles remained strong throughout the fourth quarter, as evidenced by our revenue as well as by our backlog balance,” the company said in a statement.

The company is also adding a new stream of revenue to its arsenal. On Thursday, Smith and Wesson Holding Corp. announced a deal to acquire Universal Safety Response, a privately held maker of barriers, gates and other perimeter security related equipment, for $52.5 million in cash and stock.

In a recent news release, Smith and Wesson stated that the deal should bring in revenue of $100 million next year and generate EBITDA of $15 million.

According to a recent report by the Dow Jones Newswires, first-time gun buyers, it’s been said, have rushed to buy firearms ahead of the new administration’s assumed tougher stance on gun-control laws.

The company will release full results for the quarter on June 22, after the market closes. Analysts are looking for earnings per share of 9 cents.

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Posted in Consumer Discretionary Stocks, Technology Stocks by admin | No Comments »


Buzz Stock of the Day – Carmike Cinemas (CKEC)

Posted on Friday, June 19th, 2009


Shares of Carmike Cinemas, Inc. (Nasdaq: CKEC) closed 6.6 percent higher today

On Monday, the Standard & Poor’s Ratings Service raised its outlook on the movie theater chain citing its recent box office receipts and debt reduction.

Carmike operates 250 theaters and nearly 2,300 screens in 36 states, with a focus on small and mid-sized communities.

Credit analyst Jeanne Mathewson stated in a note: “We believe that the company’s cushion of compliance could increase further if strong box office and operating performance continues.”

Earlier this year, Merriman Curhan Ford analyst Eric Wold reiterated his “Buy” rating for Carmike shares, saying that the company’s domestic box office revenues rose 9 percent to 10 percent in the first quarter despite a lineup of movies that he considered “fairly lackluster.”

We’re only in the second week of June and there are already a handful movies that have grossed more than $100 million in less than a month of being released, and many more like Star Trek, and Angels and Demons, which continue to gross big numbers despite tough competition.

Carmike was first named a Buzz Stock, when shares were trading at $3.42 a share. Loyal readers are enjoying a hefty 126 percent gain.

We’re bullish on Carmike through the end of the Summer, and we’ll keep you posted on whether we see any good trailers for movies coming out in the fall.

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Buzz Stock of the Day – Atlantic Tele-Network (ATNI)

Posted on Wednesday, June 10th, 2009

Shares of Atlantic Tele-Network, Inc. (Nasdaq: ATNI) were up as much as 47 percent at mid-day trading today, after the Salem-based telecommunications service provider announced a definitive agreement to acquire $200 million in certain wireless assets from Verizon Wireless.

Atlantic Tele-Network will acquire wireless properties, including wireless spectrum licenses and network assets, serving over 800,000 subscribers primarily in rural areas across Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Illinois, Ohio, and Idaho. Verizon Wireless is required to divest these properties as part of the regulatory approvals granted for its purchase of Alltel earlier this year.

[–quote–]
As of April 30, 2009, Atlantic Tele-Network had approximately $90 million in cash and cash equivalents, $75 million of available borrowings under its undrawn revolving credit facility, and an additional $50 million of borrowing capacity, subject to lender consent, under its term credit facility.

Atlantic Tele-Network expects the transaction to close by Q3 or Q4 of this year.

According to CEO, Michael Prior, the acquisition provides the company with “enhanced scale and revenue diversification,” and expand its U.S. wireless business. “Coupled with our existing U.S. wireless operations, we will now have significant wireless operations in rural areas of more than 10 states. Including our international operations, we expect to have more than 1,000,000 retail wireless subscribers by transaction close.”

We like ATN because the company is relsilient, generates cash from operations, and has healthy earnings growth. Shares of ATNI are down about 8.4% in the past 52-weeks, compared to Verizon’s 21.5% drop, AT&T’s 34.9% drop and Sprint’s 42.3% drop over teh past year.

ATNI generated about $65.8 million in operating cash flow and$24.1 million of levered free cash flow in the trailing 12-month period.

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Posted in Technology Stocks by Sheryl | No Comments »


Buzz Stock of the Day – GeoPharma, Inc. (GORX)

Posted on Tuesday, June 9th, 2009

Shares of GeoPharma, Inc. (Nasdaq: GORX) were up as much as 155 percent at mid-day today.

Despite a 28 percent decrease in third quarter revenues, CEO Mihir Taneja said that the company is confident that it will “end the 2009 fiscal year on a high note” primarily because of the addition of new manufacturing contracts and the emergence of its pharmaceutical business.

Pharmaceutical revenues for the nine months ended December 31st were $1.1 million, a 2722 percent increase over the same period in 2007.

CFO, Carol Dore-Falcone stated that the company hopes to “achieve break even on a cash basis in the final quarter of 2009 fiscal year ending March 31, 2009, and to see continued improvements in our financial results thereafter.”

Earlier this year, the company announced the sale of its majority ownership in its ovarian cancer business for about $2.5 million in cash, and a minority stake in the business, allowing the company to strengthen its financial position and ease “the burden of funding our ovarian cancer business segment,” Taneja said. GeoPharma will still remain a significant partner in the business, with a 40 percent stake.

GeoPharma has three main market segments:

  • Specialty Pharma, which specializes in the formulation of generic drugs for human and veterinary usage and the development of medical devices used by oncologists and other medical professionals.
  • Manufacturing, which manufactures generic drugs nutraceuticals, cosmetics and functional food products
  • Distribution, which packages and distributes the company’s products

In September 2008, Green Coast Capital issued a 12-month price target of $5.00 on GORX, citing the company’s well-defined growth strategy, and FDA approval of its new Largo, FL Cephalosporin facility for the production of the antibiotic, Cephalexin.

Green Coast’s valuation was based on applying a standard 5x gross profit valuation multiple to the company’s current fiscal year gross profit forecast of $20.6 million, and subtracting the company’s current debt of $26.7 million.

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Buzz Stock of the Day – Antigenics (AGEN)

Posted on Wednesday, June 3rd, 2009

Our Buzz Stock of the Day — Antigenics, Inc. (Nasdaq: AGEN) — was the big winner of today’s bio-tech rally.

Earlier this week, Antigenics said an analysis of patient data showed that patients with kidney cancer at intermediate risk of disease recurrence demonstrated an approximately 46 percent lower risk of death when treated with the company’s Oncophage® (vitespen) cancer therapy. Oncophage is currently approved only in Russia. The company has also filed for approval in the European Union.
Shares of Antigenics have risen almost 250% over the last 30 days.

“Demonstration of an overall survival benefit remains the gold standard, and these interim results show that Oncophage has a real promise of improving survival in patients with earlier-stage disease for whom current prognosis remains poor,” said Dr. Christopher Wood, who presented the survival results at the annual meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology. “Based on these results, Oncophage offers these patients a potential treatment that extends survival without significant toxicities.”

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