Stocks and Dollars

Natty Greene submits:

As a follow-up to my earlier article on Universal Travel Group’s (UTA) previous top institutional investor, PAR Capital, I must provide an update to reflect the most recent development in UTA’s growing institutional ownership, which now reaches 59 institutions who own 30.6% of outstanding shares.

Based on a reported increase of 236% (or 773,200 shares) to their initial position of 326,300 shares, Martin Currie LTD, is now the top institutional investor in Universal Travel Group with their ownership of 5.5% of company or 1,099,500 shares.

Martin Currie is a $17.6 billion investment management firm based in Scotland. Currie is known for their active management of specialty funds which cover sectors and regions all over the world. Their management teams are grouped into 9 categories that include: China, Global Equities, Asia, North America, UK, Japan, Global Sector Products, Europe, and Global Emerging Markets.

It is significant to note that the China part of Currie’s investment universe has the highest concentration of the company’s assets at 30%, illustrating their confidence and knowledge of Chinese investment themes and companies.

The 2010 performance of their $804 million China Fund (CHN) is particularly impressive, posting a 27.3% return against a benchmark return (MSCI Golden Dragon) of 13.5%, and the Shanghai Composite’s -14.3% return. The China Fund’s top US listed holdings (.pdf) include WuXi Pharma Tech (WX), Far East Energy (FEEC.OB), Hollysys Automation Technologies (HOLI), and Mindray Medical International (MR).

The continued institutional support Universal Travel Group is receiving is a bullish sign for any current

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Andrew August submits:

PMC Commercial Trust (PCC) is similar to Seahawk Drilling when it comes to attempts at killing the company. While the discount to book value is not as steep, quite a discount exists and the company has been consistently profitable. Even substantial markdowns on the company’s assets would leave plenty of value left over at current prices. While Bank of Internet, a company I previously profiled, has benefited from the current zero interest rate policy of

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Ian Bezek submits:

Two years ago, in February 2009, iBio Inc. (IBIO) traded for 20 cents a share. It has recently reached as high as $6 a share, representing tremendous 3,000 percent gains for long-term shareholders. However, the company’s stock price appreciation has far outpaced the operational growth of the company, and as such, the company is highly vulnerable to sharp contractions in its share price should anticipated positive catalysts fail to materialize.

Investors have been drawn to the story at iBio. It is one of only a handful of companies exploring the cutting-edge scientific research frontier in recombinant proteins. One of the largest and most widely-known of these companies is Protalix (PLX) which has an upcoming FDA decision on its Phase III drug candidate Uplyso. Protalix has provided outstanding returns to investors who have stuck with the company over the past few years. Is similar optimism at iBio justified, or is iBio merely riding high on the coattails of a much more accomplished competitor?

iBio has two research firms that cover the stock. Both firms are bullish on the company’s shares and have price targets of $6 and $8 on the company. You can find the Goldman Small Cap Research (not affiliated in any way with Goldman Sachs bank) report here, and the Noble Financial report here. These reports cite several reasons for their bullish outlooks.

For one, the company has a Phase I AIDS vaccine in its pipeline, and is currently performing several studies. However, the land of failed biotech companies

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Marty Chilberg submits:

I’m currently long China MediaExpress Holdings (CCME). But before I was, I heard the whispers of fraud, which have now become flat out screams. As a result, I spent several hundred hours combing through documents, message boards, reading articles and building my own model of the company which I ultimately put on line at investorshub.com for other potential investors to review.

I knew there was a community of bears that were casting doubt on this company’s financials. I read the bullish articles by Chimin Sang that were posted here and here on SA last summer. I also talked to a hedge fund manager who mentioned during our chat that Chimin had changed his investment thesis on the company and was ready to publish a negative article. That was 2 months ago. Again to put it in context, I was not yet invested in the company, still doing my own research to determine whether to put any money to work in the name. This period of research led to my conclusion that the

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Todd Sullivan submits:

We bought into Jamba (JMBA) at $1.14 (up 100% +) in late 2009, and I have been getting questions as to what to do with the stock. The answer is easy, we hold.

The Jamba story is still unfolding and we sit on our gains and wait for it to happen. Yes, it has taken a while but, restaurant turnaround stories typically take 18 months or more to happen. Jamba was on death’s doorstep when CEO White took over, then attempted to resuscitate itself during the worst recession since 1980-82.

Because of that, one has to give the company a little leeway with the 18 month time frame. That being said, 2011 is the year Jamba either turns it around or flounders… no two ways about it. Press like this gets Jamba off to a nice start. No,

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VFC submits:

The last time I discussed Captstone Turbine (CPST), the stock had fallen to below a buck, and dropped even lower to near the sixty cent mark soon after. These days, on the other hand, the stock is on the rebound after announcing record quarterly revenue and recieving an upgrade from Ardour Capital, who now ranks the stock as a ‘BUY’. (Click here for earnings call transcript.)

I generally don’t like following analyst recommendations, mainly because those recommendations usually come way too late; for instance, an analyst upgrade at sixty cents would have done a lot better for your money than the upgrade at a buck fifty. The analysts are sure to tip off their buddies that an up or downgrade is coming before letting the little guy in on the secret, so by the time it gets to you, the big boys are already entrenched in their positions. Nevertheless, an upgrade is an upgrade, and if you’re already in when it’s announced, then you’re likely to benefit.

According to Capstone’s earnings released, "Revenue for the third quarter of Fiscal 2011 was $24.2 million, an increase of 51% from the third quarter of Fiscal 2010. Capstone shipped 171 units in the third quarter of Fiscal 2011, compared to 122 units in the same period last year."

Both are significant numbers for a company looking forward towards growth and profitability. The release then goes on to add that, "Capstone’s backlog at the end of the third quarter was $84.7 million, up 8%

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Greg Feirman submits:

Here’s a chart comparing the performance of the Russell 2000 index of small cap stocks to the S&P 500 since the beginning of the bull market on March 9, 2009: (Click to enlarge)

As you can see, the Russell 2000 has notably outperformed the S&P 500 over the course of this bull market.

Now here is a chart of the Russell 2000 versus the S&P 500 since January 18, 2011 – the last three weeks:

(Click to enlarge)

The Russell has underperformed the S&P by 2% over the last three weeks since the selloff on Wednesday January 19, 2011.

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Edward Stevenson submits:

The other day I put on my thinking cap. And what I thought about was what China MediaExpress Holdings (CCME) investors are possibly thinking. On one end we have dedicated longs like Michael Anderson, who wrote a compelling, in-depth analysis on the company, tirelessly disproving recent allegations; on the other extreme end of the spectrum lies the incorrigible Muddy Waters, infamous for alluding to the fraud behind another China growth story in RINO International Corporation (RINO).

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