Posts Tagged ‘small cap stocks’

« Older Entries
Newer Entries »

Buzz Stock of the Day- Misonix (MSON)

Monday, April 13th, 2009


There were more than 28,000 prostate cancer-related deaths in 2008.

Many of the current treatments including radiation and hormone therapies either result in a recurrence of the cancer, or have harsh side effects such as osteoporosis and anemia.

Minimally invasive treatments in late clinical trials are showing promise, however.

Our Buzz Stock of the Day — Misonix, Inc. (Nasdaq: MSON) — is developing a prostate cancer therapy based on High Intensity Focused Ultrasound (HIFU) technology. The company’s HIFU-based therapy is in Phase III clinical trials at a number of academic centers throughout the U.S.

In 1999, Misonix obtained a 20 percent equity position in Focus Surgery, a company leading the way in High Intensity Focused Ultrasound (HIFU) technology. Misonix manufactures the product for Focus Surgery. Misonix also markets the SB500 in the United Kingdom, Europe and Russia.

Treatment time using HIFU is usually 3-4 hours, and patients will more than likely be discharged the same day, or next day at the doctors discretion, according to Misonix’s Web site.

We like Misonix because the company makes money from its portfolio of ultrasonic medical devices that are being used in cosmetic surgery, neurosurgery, and laparoscopic surgery; is aggressively expanding its geographic footprint, and has a very promising pipeline.

For the three months ended December 31, Misonix reported net income of $194,000, or $0.03 per-share, compared with a net loss of $117,000 or $0.02 per-share. Revenue for the company’s second fiscal quarter increased 5.1 percent over the same period last year, largely due to sales growth for the company’s medical device products.

“Our medical device business made solid progress as we expanded our sales opportunities both domestically and internationally,” said Misonix CEO, Michael McManus in an earnings release.

The company has made continued strides to expand it sales and distribution network recently, and announced several agreements to enter new markets including Eastern Europe, Belgium and Luxenbourg, and Israel.

Misonix also recently strengthened its balance sheet by selling its Ultrasonic Laboratory non-core business for $3.5 million.

Tags: , , ,
Posted in Health Care Stocks | No Comments »

Buzz Stock of the Day – A-Power Energy Generation Systems (APWR)

Thursday, April 9th, 2009


With favorable policy support from the Chinese government, wind power has been witnessing a rapid development in recent years, with annual growth reaching more than 100 percent in the past few years. It’s estimated that China’s wind power industry will continue its high growth momentum in the coming years with the annual growth rate likely surpassing 60 percent, according to a recent article.

Our Buzz Stock of the Day — A-Power Energy Generation Systems Ltd. (Nasdaq: APWR) — could likely be a big beneficiary of China’s greening.

The power systems firm reported a net income of $10.0 million, or $0.30 per share, compared with earnings of $3.4 million, or $0.25 per share, a year ago. Analysts were projecting earnings of $0.15 per-share.

Revenue rose 93.5 percent to $81.4 million in the fourth quarter.

For 2009, the company expects revenue of about $290 million and net income of about $29 million. These targets are based on the Company’s current distributed power generation (DG) backlogs, which are subject to change when the company signs new DG contracts and/or recognizes revenues from wind turbine sales during 2009.

“After China posted robust growth rates in wind turbine installation from 6GW in 2007 to 12GW in 2008, the Chinese government recently unveiled another ambitious plan to invest $11.7 billion (RMB 80 billion) in expanding the wind energy market to 30GW and requiring utility companies to generate 15 percent of their power from wind by 2010,” said A-Power’s chairman and CEO, Jinxiang Lu. “As we believe many Chinese domestic wind turbine producers are facing technological barriers and component shortages in their mega-watt class turbine production, A-Power, with its European and U.S. relationships, is well positioned to gain market share.”

A-Power had cash and cash equivalents of $43.5 million as of December 31, 2008, compared with $59.7 million at September 30, 2008. Working capital as of December 31, 2008 was $97.0 million, compared with $95.8 million at September 30, 2008.

The Shenyang-based company has had quarterly earnings growth of 124 percent year-over-year, and quarterly revenue growth of 119 percent year-over-year.

A-Power’s P/E ratio is 7.8, well below the industry average of 11.4, making it all the more attractive at these levels.

“Alternative energy perhaps has a near-term problem with overexposure in our opinion, but the industry is not hype by any stretch, and China’s demand for power will only increase again once the global crisis has passed,” said Brian Yerger, a partner at ARDA Advisors.

With recently announced partnerships with General Electric, and European wind turbine makers Fuhrlander and Norwin, A-Power could become a major player in China’s alternative energy market.

Tags: , , , , ,
Posted in Energy Stocks, Technology Stocks | 2 Comments »

Buzz Stock of the Day – American Technology (ATCO)

Wednesday, April 8th, 2009

Maritime piracy incidents were up more than 20 percent in 2008, according to a recent article.

The U.S. military and maritime security industry are taking steps to prevent acts of piracy including the installations of early warning systems like the ones developed by our Buzz Stock of the Day — American Technology Corp. (Nasdaq: ATCO).

American Technology’s LRAD sound-directed early warning systems allow operators to broadcast warning messages well beyond 1500 meters in some cases.

LRAD systems steadily gained adoption both in the U.S. and abroad, as evidenced by the San Diego-based company’s Q2 ghost numbers. ATC announced that it expects to report revenue of more than $5.5 million for the three months ended March 31, a 169 percent over the same period last year.

“With deliveries to the U.S. military leading the way, we continue to experience strong LRAD orders and sales growth,” said Tom Brown, president and CEO of American Technology.

Less than a month ago, ATC announced orders totalling $1 million for LRAD systems for the Singapore Navy, and Japanese Navy.

“Due to continuing piracy and terrorist threats, a growing number of Asian military and commercial security organizations are evaluating and procuring LRAD systems,” Brown said.

In addition to growing sales, the company plans to control costs at lower levels in 2009 than 2008. ATC also stated that it expects its LRAD margins to improve as production volumes increase.

“In addition to increasing military orders, escalating maritime piracy and an amplified focus on aircraft and passenger safety, while controlling and protecting wildlife, are generating demand for our proprietary LRAD systems in the U.S. and around the world,” Brown said.

Here’s a clip from 2006 on how the LRAD systems works:

Tags: , , ,
Posted in Technology Stocks | No Comments »

Buzz Stock of the Day- Carmike Cinemas (CKEC)

Monday, April 6th, 2009

Despite being entrenched in a recession, Americans are buying movie tickets.

Ticket sales this year are up 17.5 percent, to $1.7 billion, according to box-office tracking company, Media by Numbers.

The box-office surge started just before Christmas with the comedy “Marley & Me,” in which Jennifer Aniston was upstaged by a dog. And it has continued, weekend by weekend, with little sign of let-up, analysts say.

In 1982, theater attendance jumped 10.1 percent to about 1.18 billion (the top seller was “E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial”) as unemployment rose sharply past 10 percent. Then admissions fell nearly 12 percent, an unusually sharp drop, in 1985 (the “Back to the Future” year), as the economy picked up — suggesting that theater owners have sometimes found fortunes in times of distress, and distress in good times.

Our Buzz Stock of the Day — Carmike Cinemas, Inc. (Nasdaq: CKEC) — is a U.S. leader in digital cinema and 3D cinema deployments and one of the nation’s largest motion picture exhibitors. As of December 31, 2008, Carmike had 250 theatres with 2,287 screens in 36 states. Carmike’s digital cinema footprint reaches 2,157 screens, of which 452 were also equipped with 3D capability. Carmike’s focus for its theatre locations is small to mid-sized communities with populations of fewer than 100,000.

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

He also thinks that Carmike is benefiting from its operation of 500 3-D movie screens, which accounts for about 21 percent of its total screens and 25 percent of the total 3-D screens in the U.S.

The Columbus, Ga.-based cinema owner and operator (NASDAQ: CKEC) reported Monday a net loss of $41.4 million and a loss per share of $3.27, compared with a net loss of $126.9 million and a loss per share of $10.07 in 2007.

Revenue dipped about 2 percent to $474.4 million.

Attendance went from 55.1 million in 2007 to 49.9 million in 2008.

“We finished 2008 with a solid fourth quarter, highlighted by a 10 percent increase in theater level cash flow, compared to the year-ago quarter,” said Carmike Cinemas Chairman David Passman, in an earnings release.

Carmike is also one of a few companies that is poised to profit from an uptick in the number of 3-d movies that are released.

“We are pleased with the positive response throughout our circuit to 3D films. Over the past few years Carmike has converted 2,157 of our screens to digital cinema and built a leadership position in 3D installations. As a result, Carmike now has the largest installed base of 3D screens of any domestic exhibitor. We believe we are well positioned to benefit from a growing pipeline of high profile 3D content planned for 2009 and beyond.”

Carmike generates about $25 million of operating cash flow on revenue of $474 million. The company has had year-over-year quarterly revenue growth of 1.5 percent, and shares trade near their 52-week low.

Tags: , , ,
Posted in Consumer Discretionary Stocks | No Comments »

Buzz Stock of the Day- Lifetime Brands (LCUT)

Wednesday, April 1st, 2009


More than 2,000 exhibitors from 30 countries attended this year’s International Home & Housewares Show in Chicago.

A lot of players in the industry, including Jeff Siegel, CEO of Lifetime Brands, Inc. (Nasdaq: LCUT) — our Buzz Stock of the Day — are actually upbeat and claim that “in difficult times, innovation is an indispensable tool.” And frugality Siegel said is actually an impetus for sales for companies like Lifetime Brands. Sales for some specific houseware categories were actually up in 2008, despite an overall decline in retail sales, according to NPD Group.

“As people eat more at home, they need to acquire the products that enable them to prepare, cook, and serve food at home,” Siegel said. The beauty of many of Lifetime Brands’ products is that they’re cheap– many under $100 — making them a viable purchase for consumers.

Lifetime Brands markets cutlery, kitchen tools, gadgets, and other products under the KitchenAid, Cuisinart and Farberware brands at retailers nationwide.

The company recently partnered with Edison Nation, a product consultant, to solicit ideas for new products from consumers.

“It’s a win-win situation because it offers excitement that people need in this tough environment. And Lifetime gets additional innovative items that we can turn into positive sales,” said Dan Siegel, executive vice president of corporate innovation strategies for Lifetime Brands. “

“People are spending more time at home,” Tom Mirabile, a vice president and trend analyst for Lifetime Brands told Reuters. “We have to help them find ways to make that experience interesting.”

Lifetime Brands reported revenue (ttm) of $486.3 million, and generated EBITDA of $17.6 million. The company has a 1.3 percent operating margin, and generated $40.8 million in operating cash flow and $11.8 million in levered free cash-flow. Shares of LCUT trade slightly above their 50-day moving average.

Join the discussion on Lifetime Brands on the company’s official Buzz Stock thread.

Tags: , , ,
Posted in Consumer Staples Stocks | No Comments »

« Older Entries
Newer Entries »