Stocks and Dollars

John Gilliam submits:

Last week I wrote an article that pointed out what appeared to be a growing and substantial short interest in Atinsic (Nasdaq: ATRN), the owner of Kazaa. Within 24 hours of the publication of that article, an article was published about ATRN by one of the most prolific “short story” authors of 2011. Mr. Ian Bezek has published 22 articles that make very persuasive arguments for why a given stock should be sold short since he graduated from college in December.

For those who are counting, that is more than one short recommendation for every 3 trading days so far this year. If you take a look at the companies he has written these “short stories” about, you will find that many of them had precipitous declines in their share price leading up to (and sometimes following) his article. Nearly all had substantial increases (sometimes in the

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Ian Wyatt submits:

For the near-term, buying uranium miners might make sense. As we witnessed yesterday, the selling has already commenced, as the market’s expectations for nuclear energy expansion has been reduced while the international community considers other energy alternatives.

However, the longer-term outlook for nuclear energy and its chief fuel source, uranium, is far less negative since there are currently 108 nuclear reactors under construction in countries such as China and India. Across the globe, the World Nuclear Association (WNA) predicts there will be another 331 nuclear reactors in operation within the next 15 years.

The WNA’s chart below sums up why now is the time to get into uranium-related investments. The world will be using more uranium for years to come — and many great investment opportunities appear in the midst of a supply crunch.

Take the aforementioned supply crunch and add the fact that Denison Mines (DNN) is now selling

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If Japanese stocks were cheap a few weeks, they’ve become a whole lot cheaper — in fact, they are now trading at the cheapest levels on record … or at least over the last 20 years.

Below is the price to book ratio of the Topix Small Cap Index. I use the small cap index because it gives me an appreciation of the value of the broader market, which is much more representative than the major market indices such as the Nikkei. The average price to book ratio is some 0.63x. This compares to about 1.25x for the U.K. and U.S. (the FTSE Small Cap and Russell 2000).

[Click to enlarge]

There is something else that should be taken into account: Cash sitting

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Alex B. Gray submits:

AMREP Corporation (AXR) has had it rough for the last several years. After the company saw its stock price spike in late 2006 and early 2007 to well over $100 per share, it has been nothing but a downward spiral since. In fact, the stock currently trades below its March 2009 lows, when everyone thought the world was coming to an end. The company’s primary operations are in real estate, subscription fulfillment and newsstand distribution services. All were hit very hard by the economic downturn, and the subscription services segment has the added complication of obsolescence as more consumers turn to the internet to read their favorite publications. Below is a summary of the company’s operating subsidiaries.

Real Estate

The company’s real estate segment is operated through its subsidiary, AMREP Southwest Inc. AMREP Southwest operates primarily in Sandoval County, New Mexico and more specifically the City of Rio Rancho, New

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Jeff Moore submits:

In a recently filed 8K, Itex (ITEX.OB) has announced the implementation of one of the more interesting “Poison Pills” that I have read about. It takes effect when anyone acquires or offers to acquire more than 15% of the companies stock. Interestingly, this doesn’t seem to include members that are already on the board, who own over 1/3 of the stock. As I have talked about before, several parties (here and here) have expressed great interest in Itex before. Presently, it seems that members of Polonitza Group seem to be the main target of this poison pill (just look at all of the Form 4s that have been filed).

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Microcap Speculator submits:

It seems odd to use the word “invest” in the same sentence as the Pink Sheets. For over a decade, the Pink Sheets has been the cesspool of publicly-traded companies. It was a price quotation system for pump-and-dump penny stocks, companies delisted for fraud, and other companies generally unworthy of an investment. That has changed recently — I’ll get to the changes later. But what I’m investigating is a potential investment in the company that runs the Pink Sheets — a company that is profitable, growing and pays a steady dividend. And yes, it is listed on a platform affiliated with the Pink Sheets.

OTC Markets Group (formerly known as Pink OTC) is traded on the OTC QX under the symbol OTCM.PK.

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David M. Gordon submits:

As you know, I prefer high growth, small cap companies that sell at a discount to their rate of growth … which, I admit, are not especially easy to find these days. News about companies disseminates more quickly to more people at mostly the same time than ever before.

My investment recommendation of Uroplasty (UPI) violates one part of my investing methodology, share price; I prefer a minimum threshold of $15-20. (How odd that my first two recommendations on Seeking Alpha fall under that minimum.) One reason for the low share price is that Uroplasty is that many investors do not know about the company … although that status likely will not continue.

Uroplasty provides essential solutions for incontinence. The company’s focus is on clinically effective, minimally-invasive therapies that may be performed in an office-based or outpatient setting. These therapies deliver significant improvement in quality of life for patients and

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Steven Breazzano submits:

DUSA Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (DUSA) – based in Wilmington, MA is a dermatology company engaged in the development and commercialization of Levulan photodynamic therapy [PDT]. Utilizing their proprietary Kerastick 20% Topical Solution with PDT and the BLU-U brand light source for the treatment of non-hyperkeratotic actinic keratoses (AKs) of the face or scalp, the company aims to leverage its technology platform to provide treatment in a safe, efficacious, and reliable manner. AKs are precancerous skin lesions caused by chronic sun exposure that can develop over time into a form of skin cancer called squamous cell carcinoma (approximately 10% will turn cancerous). DUSA received approval from the FDA and launched its Levulan Kerastick 20% Topical Solution with PDT and the BLU-U in the U.S. in September 2000.

When Levulan^® is used and followed with exposure to light to treat a medical condition, it is known as Levulan PDT. The Kerastick is a

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