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I have been watching with interest from the sidelines as alternative energy stocks have skyrocketed in recent months, partly wishing that I was riding the wave and partly quite content in the knowledge that there will be plenty of opportunity to make money in alternative energy in the future. My biggest concern at this point is that not all alternative energy stocks are created equally, a good number of them will fail, and ultimately which ones succeed may come down to politics. I don't yet feel confident enough to separate the wheat from the chaff, particularly as many alternative energy companies are not yet profitable, so I will continue to watch with interest and research companies that I feel stand out from the crowd.
So if I'm not yet investing in alternative energy, what am I focusing on? While I fully expect renewable and green technologies to play an increasing role in energy production in the future, I am still a firm believer that coal, oil and natural gas will remain the major sources of energy in the intermediate term. I also expect nuclear power to feature strongly, but that is a topic for another day.
You see, the problem with alternative energy, while highly desirable, is that it is expensive. In comparison, coal is cheap - very cheap. Yes, it is dirty, yes, the environmentalists don't like it, and yes, there is pressure to reduce its use in the US, but I don't feel that any of those issues are going to matter until alternative energy can begin to compete on price.
The other huge issue is that China is the world's largest coal producer and consumer, and they are not going to stop burning coal any time soon. In fact, China plans to build stockpiles of the fuel in the eastern province of Shandong to ensure supplies and help stabilize prices. At this point China is self-sufficient in coal, but there may come a time soon when it is a net importer of coal.
If you are looking for a coal play that bets directly on China, then Yanzhou Coal (YZC) fits the bill. Yanzhou is one of China’s largest coal suppliers producing high-grade, low-sulfur coal, which burns cleaner and therefore fetches a premium price. Yanzhou Coal (YZC) is principally engaged in underground coal mining, preparation and processing, sales, and railway transportation of coal. The company is organized into three operating divisions: coal mining, coal railway transportation and methanol and electricity power. The company operates six coal mines: Xinglongzhuang coal mine, Baodian coal mine, Nantun coal mine, Dongtan coal mine, Jining II coal mine (Jining II) and Jining III coal mine (Jining III), as well as a regional rail network that links these mines with the national rail network.
So Yanzhou Coal (YZC) is in a great position to benefit from China's growing demand for coal, and also from any additional infrastucture investment, but what are the fundamentals like? Despite the recent upward movement in the share price, I believe that Yanzhou Coal remains a value stock with plenty of potential upside.
The company has low debt, has shown excellent growth in recent years, and pays a 4.2% dividend. Yanzhou Coal (YZC) currently trades at a P/E of 7.4 and a price/book of 1.8 with a current ratio of 2.83. The company boasts a return on equity of 26.9% and a gross margin of 50%. The company currently trades at $14.85 and I would be looking for a 12-month price target of $25-27.
Disclosure: At the time of writing the author held shares in Yanzhou Coal (YZC).
CryoLife, Inc. (CRY) is engaged in preserving and distributing human tissues for cardiac and vascular transplant applications and develops and commercializes medical devices. The human tissue distributed by the Company includes the CryoValve SG pulmonary human heart valve (CryoValve SG), processed using CryoLife's SynerGraft technology. The Company's medical devices include BioGlue Surgical Adhesive (BioGlue) and Hemostase, which the Company distributes for Medafor, Inc., as well as other medical devices. CryoLife distributes BioGlue, which is used in place of stitches, throughout the United States and in more than 70 other countries.
CryoLife is an interesting company that has been on my radar for a while now. The company has carved itself a nice niche in an almost recession proof sector and has been aggressively marketing its products. The market for BioGlue and tissue preservation services is only going to continue to grow as the population gets larger and older, and eventually the true value of the company will be recognized. My main concern is the wild rollercoaster ride that the stock price has been on over the years. That said, I do believe that the lawsuits are now behind them and that the company will continue to grow.
The company has been profitable since early 2007 and has been steadily increasing earnings and sales since then. CryoLife trades at a P/E of 5.0 and a price/book of 1.55 with a current ratio of 4.28. The company boasts a return on equity of 38.1% and a gross margin of 64.5% which is pretty impressive in the current economic climate. There was significant insider selling last fall when the company was trading at over $12 a share, although CEO Steven Anderson still holds almost 7% of the company, which I take to be a positive sign.
CryoLife currently trades at $5.82 and I would be looking for a 12-month price target of $11-12.
Disclosure: At the time of writing the author did not hold shares in CryoLife Inc., (CRY).
SmartPros (SPRO) provides learning and training solutions for professional markets, including accounting/finance, legal, engineering, securities and insurance, as well as information technology professionals. The company also provides corporate governance, ethics and compliance training for the general corporate market. It offers off-the-shelf courses and produce custom-designed programs with delivery methods suited to the specific needs of its clients. Its customers include professional firms and companies of all sizes. The company's e-marketing and e-commerce business sells ads on its website and develops newsletters and marketing programs for clients.
Depending on which numbers you choose to believe, unemployment currently sits somewhere between 9% and 14%. In these uncertain times I believe that companies such as SmartPros should do well as unemployment figures soar. Those of us lucky enough to be employed will most likely be looking for ways in which to become more valuable to our employers in order to retain our positions, and those of us who have suffered the loss of their job will inevitably be looking for ways in which to stand out from the crowd in the competition for the limited openings available. This is where SmartPros comes into its own. The company offers courses in the very skills that many people will be looking to add to their resumes.
The company reported excellent figures for 2008 and I expect a similar trend to be observed in 2009. As of December 31, 2008, the company had approximately $6.63 million in cash and cash equivalents, $5.6 million in deferred revenue, stockholders' equity of $12.1 million, and no debt. SmartPros trades at a P/E of 8.1 and a price/book of 1.17 with a current ratio of 1.36 and a gross margin of 57.9%. Also, the acquisition of Loscalzo last year appears to have been a smart one, leading to a number of cost cutting measures and an increase in ROIC.In the company annual report Chairman and CEO, Allen Greene stated “We are proud to have finished the year strong and are looking to carry that momentum into 2009.” “We continue to show revenue growth year-over-year and our operating profits were at an all-time high. Further, we believe that operating profit and EBITDA numbers provide the best comparative narration because it removes the influence of interest rates and the tax benefit treatment.” Greene holds almost 5.6% of the company stock and is one of several insider holders. Also of note, real estate investor Zohar Ben-Dov announced a 10.5% stake in the company in March this year.The company boasts a large course library and a large customer base, however, it is a competitive industry with a relatively low barrier to entry, meaning that the company has to continually strive to protect its niche. This being said, I believe that SmartPros represents good value at its current price of $3 a share and would be looking at a 12-month target price of around $5.Disclosure: At the time of writing the author did not hold shares in SmartPros Ltd (SPRO).
If you are anything like me, you've probably spent many hours screening through list after list of stock tickers trying to unearth some as yet undiscovered companies that, just maybe, might turn out to be the next Google (GOOG), Microsoft (MSFT) or Walmart (WMT). This inevitably results in a collection of speculative smallcap and microcap stocks that you have never heard of before - after all, you're unlikely to find potential multibaggers among the highly researched megacap companies of the Dow Jones - companies that have already grown massively.
There are a number of things that must be considered when looking to invest in these smaller companies, not least of which is that there is often a lot less information available upon which to base your decisions, not to mention volatility and liquidity issues. So where is a good place to start? I personally like to begin my search by looking for value stocks with little or no debt that operate in niche markets. I also like to look for companies with good cash flow, high insider ownership, and a history of growth. It is a common misconception that most smaller companies will inevitably end up beginning run out of business by a larger one. In fact, many large companies are so slow moving that the smaller company eventually catches or even surpasses them! For instance, there was a time when the majority of people believed that Microsoft (MSFT) was invincible, until little Apple (AAPL) turned the tables and became a multi billion dollar enterprise.So here are a three companies that I believe are worth considering further, along with a basic overview of each.
Image Sensing Systems, Inc. (ISNS)Market Cap: $35.6MThe company develops and markets video image processing products for use in traffic applications, such as intersection control, highway, bridge and tunnel traffic management and traffic data collection. Its family of products, marketed as Autoscope and RTMS, provides end users with the tools needed to optimize traffic flow, enhance driver safety, regulate air quality and address security/surveillance concerns. Image Sensing Systems trades at a P/E of 8.6 and a price/book of 1.25 with a current ratio of 8.96. The company has been steadily increasing earnings and sales, and boasts a return on equity of 15.8%. The company has global exposure and wide potential with sales across North America as well as in Europe, Asia, and the Middle East. The stock currently trades at $8.92 and I would be looking for a 12-month price target of around $14-15.RF Industries, Ltd. (RFIL)Market Cap: $12.1MThe company is a provider of interconnect products and systems for radio frequency (RF) communications products and wireless digital transmission systems. Through six divisions the company supplies customers across a wide range of industries including aerospace, medicine, multi-media, and communications, as well as the military. RF Industries trades at a P/E of 9.4 and a price/book of 0.78 with a current ratio of 16.4. The company has demonstrated excellent profitability in the past, however has been affected by the economic downturn, resulting in reduced sales. As a result the company recently suspended its dividend payment in order to focus on product development and acquisitions. The company has a return on equity of 10.1% and the management appear to be making all the right moves to navigate through these difficult times. The stock currently trades at $3.95 and I would be looking for a 12-month price target of around $6-7.Continucare Corporation (CNU)
Market Cap: $142.5M
Continucare is a provider of primary care physician services in Florida. The company through its network of 18 medical centers provides primary care medical services on an outpatient basis. It also provides practice management services to independent physician affiliates (IPAs) at 25 medical offices. The company trades at a P/E of 11.3 and a price/book of 1.34 with a current ratio of 4.8. The company has demonstrated good EPS and sales growth in recent years and has a return on equity of 12.8% with very high insider ownership. The stock currently trades at $2.40 and I would be looking for a 12-month price target of around $3.50.Disclosure - At the time of writing the author did not hold shares in any of the companies mentioned in this article.
Friedman Industries, Inc. (FRD) is a microcap value stock engaged in steel and pipe processing and distribution. The company divides its products into two main groups: coil and tubular products. Friedman Industries, Inc (FRD) sells coil products primarily to steel distributors and customers fabricating steel products, such as storage tanks, steel buildings, farm machinery and equipment, construction equipment or transportation equipment, located primarily in the midwestern, southwestern and southeastern sections of the United States. The company's principal customers for tubular products are steel and pipe distributors, piling contractors and U.S. Steel Tubular Products, Inc. (USS).
The company comes with a great set of fundamentals, trading at a P/E of 2.5 and a price/book of 0.7 with a current ratio of 3.9 and very little debt. The company has been steadily growing earnings and sales over the past few years, and has paid a dividend for the past 10 years (currently 3.5% yield).
Despite the current economic slow down, I am confident that a company of the strength of Friedman Industries will be among the survivors, particularly as the manufacturing and construction industries begin to pick up in the coming quarters. Friedman Industries boasts a return on equity of close to 30% and a 5-year historical EPS growth rate of 31.7%. These are the kind of numbers that small cap value investors love to see. The stock price has already made a significant move upwards from its 52 week low of $3.82 in March, and has in fact just broken through its 200 day moving average, but I believe that plenty of upside still remains to be seen. I would be looking for a 12-month price target of around $12-13 as the economic outlook begins to improve.
Disclosure: At the time of writing the author held shares in Friedman Industries, Inc. (FRD).
Air T, Inc. (AIRT) is a microcap value stock which operates in two industry segments: providing overnight air cargo services to the air express delivery industry through its wholly owned subsidiaries, Mountain Air Cargo, Inc. (MAC) and CSA Air, Inc. (CSA), and aviation ground support and other specialized equipment products and services to passenger and cargo airlines, airports and the military, through its wholly owned subsidiary, Global Ground Support, LLC (GGS) and Global Aviation Services, LLC (GAS). The company has the kind of fundamentals that Warren Buffett would love - if only he were able to trade a company this small. Air T, Inc. (AIRT) trades at a P/E of 4.4 and a price/book of 1.03 with a current ratio of 3.1 and very little debt. The company has been steadily growing earnings and sales over the past few years and pays a dividend of 3.7% which is pretty impressive for a company of its size. While there are a number of other microcap dividend payers, I have struggled to find one that I believe is quite as attractive as Air T, Inc. (AIRT). The company recently announced an annual dividend payment of $0.33 - an increase on last year's $0.30 figure despite the tough economic climate.
I find that significant insider ownership is often one of the most important factors to consider when looking to invest in small and microcap companies. Company Chairman, Walter Clark, owns around 6% of the company's stock giving me confidence that the company holds the interests of its shareholders as a high priority. The company recently announced an order for 29 plane deicers, worth $11.5 million from the US Air Force as part of an ongoing multiyear contract with the US Air Force. The company also has strong ties with FedEx, operating a fleet of 95 planes as part of the FedEx distribution network.While Air T, Inc. (AIRT) may not yet be a household name (it may never be), the most profitable investments are often the ones where you get in on the ground floor. I find it hard to believe that companies such as Wal-Mart (WMT) or Google (GOOG) will double or triple in size any time soon - they've had impressive runs already. However, a microcap value stock of the caliber of Air T, Inc. (AIRT) could quite easily double or triple over the next year or two.Disclosure: At the time of writing the author held shares in Air T (AIRT).
At the beginning of the year I made a list of picks and pans for the year which I planned to review at the end of each month. The purpose of this exercise was to provide ideas for your own research, some potential opportunities for 2009, as well as some companies I feel are best avoided. We're five months into the year now and there has been a lot of movement across the board.
Interestingly, had I owned real life positions in a number of these stocks, I would've most likely gotten out while the going was good. For instance, shares in Anadys (ANDS) skyrocketed over 300% on positive clinical data before losing most of their gains a few months later following a poor earnings statement. A gain that large in the biotech arena would've been too much for me to resist and I would've been out of there right away! However, for the purpose of this exercise there will be no changing of picks, no matter what happens to the underlying companies.
So here are the performances for 2009 to date.My Long Picks for 2009, with 05/31/09 closing prices
Himax Technologies (HIMX) - $3.63 (+125.47%)Yanzhou Coal (YZC) - $12.63 (+67.95%)Anadys Pharmaceuticals (ANDS) - $2.22 (+41.40%)Quicksilver Gas Services LP (KGS) - $13.00 (+37.13%)Urban Outfitters (URBN) - $20.42 (+36.32%)Natural Resources Partners LP (NRP) - $23.66 (+35.59%)Dorchester Minerals LP (DMLP) - $20.49 (+29.11%)Ecology & Environment (EEI) - $14.22 (+18.70%)Raven Industries (RAVN) - $27.46 (+13.94%) Versar, Inc. (VSR) - $4.52 (+9.71%)Chase Corporation (CCF) - $11.70 (+3.63%)Highveld Steel and Vanadium (HSVLY) - $7.85 (+2.21%)Hugoton Royalty Trust (HGT) - $13.88 (-13.52%)UFP Technologies (UFPT) - $4.16 (-21.36%)Shares in Himax Technologies (HIMX) continued to rise from $2.73 to $3.63 this month despite reporting a huge slump in earnings revenue. The company is expecting a recovery in Q2 prompting the move in the share price. The top performer of the month was Versar, Inc. (VSR) moving from $2.60 to $4.52, following the announcement that the company would receive stimulus money as part of an alternative energy study. Dorchester Minerals (DMLP) and Hugoton Royalty Trust (HGT) both put in significant moves this month. I continue to be bullish on commodities which I still believe will be one of the few sectors that will finish the year on a high note. Raven Industries (RAVN) announced a dividend increase this month, something of a rare commodity in these times, leading to a moderate movement in the share price.
Not so stellar was the performance of United Foam Technologies (UFPT), falling from $5.05 to $4.16 and currently sitting bottom of the pile in my long picks for the year. The move is largely due to a drop in sales and revenue, however, I still believe the company has a strong balance sheet and will emerge from the current crisis as a strong player in the industry.
My Short Picks for 2009, with 05/31/09 closing pricesOffice Depot (ODP) - $4.66 (+56.38%)Ann Taylor Stores (ANN) - $7.32 (+45.24%)Red Robin Gourmet Burgers (RRGB) - $17.30 (+2.79%)
Build-A-Bear Workshop (BBW) - $4.48 (-7.82%)La-Z-Boy (LZB) - $1.87 (-13.82%)Bank of America (BAC) - $11.27 (-19.96%)LaCrosse Footwear (BOOT) - $9.40 (-24.68%)Citigroup (C) - $3.72 (-44.56%)Mercantile Bancorp (MBR) - $5.65 (-46.45%)Converted Organics (COIN) - $1.48 (-58.19%) Circuit City (CCTYQ) - $0.021 (-84.62%) - BankruptSmurfit Stone Container Corporation (SSCC) - $0.00 (-100%) - BankruptAs a group my short picks continued to rally this month, despite poor fundamentals. I think this is a trend that we will shortly see reversed as the bear market rally gives way to the next leg down. The biggest mover of the month was Office Depot (ODP) moving from $2.70 to $4.66 following a number of analyst upgrades, while La-Z-Boy (LZB) retraced most of last month's impressive gains. Office Depot (ODP) has made an impressive recovery from close to $1 a share back in March so I'm beginning to suspect that its days as a good short pick may be behind us.Well, I will review the list again at the end of June to see how my picks and pans are performing. Until then, happy investing!
Disclosure: At the time of writing the author held shares in Highveld Steel and Vanadium (HSVLY), Himax Technologies (HIMX), Hugoton Royalty Trust (HGT), Yanzhou Coal (YZC), UFP Technologies (UFPT), and Versar, Inc. (VSR).
...And I feel fine?Actually, I don't know about you, but I have an ever-growing sinking feeling that this house of cards we've built up around us is about to come tumbling down! As I sit here drinking my early morning coffee and musing over the latest round of disappointing headlines, I'm beginning to see that despite all the vain attempts by the Federal Reserve to plug their finger in the levee, there are just too many holes and cracks to even think about stopping the floodwaters now.I find all this talk of the "green shoots" of recovery a little insulting, it's kind of like the emperor's new clothes - everybody is too afraid to tell the mighty emperor that he is in fact naked, and those magnificent garments are just a figment of his overactive imagination! I have no idea how we managed to have such a great rally during March and April, I figure that many people decided that "it couldn't really get much worse" and just jumped in regardless! The bank stress tests were little more than a sick joke and a waste of tax payers money, even the so called "worst case scenario" that they incorporated is a better state of the economy than what is actually happening in reality right now!! I'm sure that makes sense to someone somewhere, but it seems like a another cover-up to me. I've just about had enough of all the smoke and mirrors, let's just bring the facts out into the light and deal with them.So, moving on. Retail figures anyone? Er...yeah, they're less than pretty. With consumer spending continuing to drop, we should be expecting another round of corporate losses, missed earnings, and falling stock prices. Add into that the continuing increase in unemployment figures, which are not going to improve anytime soon in the light of continued corporate bankruptcies and cost cutting exercises and you will soon realize that we're in for even lower consumer spending and a fresh wave of home foreclosures and credit card defaults. In fact, while the stock market was putting in a huge rally during March and April, the number of home foreclosures surged to a record high according to RealtyTrac. If it was the bursting of the housing bubble that got us into this mess, then I find it hard to imagine getting out of the mess without a significant improvement in the real estate sector and I don't see this happening for a few years yet. Yes, I did really say YEARS. I don't subscribe to the permanent mantra of "we should expect to see recovery in ...insert time 2 quarters away..." That's just not realistic. The huge wave of mortgage losses and loan defaults that we will continue to see is going to finally expose many banks as being little more than bankrupt shell corporations. The government cannot save them all, and really shouldn't try.Actually, given the huge shortfall in the funds needed to pay Social Security and Medicare to the millions of baby boomers retiring this year, I wonder in the Federal Reserve should really be trying to save any company, period. I think the latest estimate for the shortfall is somewhere north of $50 trillion which dwarfs many other economic issues right now. We already know that the Chinese and Japanese have taken on just about as much US debt as they are likely to, so the Federal Reserve can't just keep on running the printing presses without decimating the US dollar which is only going to harm the country further. We've already started to see the beginnings of the unraveling of the dollar, and I'm sure there is much worse to come.So where do we go from here? Down.Disclosure - At the time of writing the author held shares in ProShares Ultrashort 20+ Year Treasury ETF (TBT) and Direxion Financial Bear 3X ETF (FAZ).
On Tuesday morning, Bank of America (BAC) announced the sale of 13.5 billion shares of China Construction Bank, representing a 5.8% stake in the company. Bank of America (BAC) raised around $7.3 billion through this sale, which was required in order to meet capital requirements following on from last week's stress tests.
So what's the big deal you might ask? Well, where do I start? There are a number of interesting observations that you could make.
* The shares were sold at around a 14% discount to China Construction Bank's previous closing price of HK$4.91.
* Back in January, Bank of America (BAC) had already sold around $2.8 billion of China Construction Bank shares.
* There is no shortage of buyers for the shares, with a private fund headed by Fang Fenglei, picking up the lion's share.
* Rather than plummeting, the stock price actually rose slightly following the huge sale.
In fact, this year overseas financial companies have sold over $15 billion of Chinese financial stocks as they are forced to try to repair their shattered balance sheets. I see this in a lot of ways as counter-productive. They are being forced to sell valuable assets that will inevitably see tremendous growth in coming years and yet will have to hold onto a lot of the toxic assets that got them into the mess in the first place. Bank of America (BAC) was obviously very desperate to sell their shares, as they had to offload them far below market price, and I'm sure if they weren't locked into holding the remainder of their stake (around 11% of CCB) until 2011, that they would've attempted to offload much of that too.
It would appear that there is good liquidity among Chinese financial stocks, with this huge glut of shares being absorbed relatively quietly by a small group of investors. Where US financial institutions are resorting to desperate measures to try to raise capital, Asian bargain hunters are snapping up golden opportunities at great prices. It appears to be yet another example of the Chinese propping up the failing US economy. The Chinese are already the largest holders of US government debt, and now have the opportunity to use their vast cash reserves to buy up Chinese assets held by overseas institutions, as well as continuing to fuel their insatiable appetite for commodities.
I am confident that China will continue its amazing growth story, despite the recent global economic downturn. The reduced US demand for Chinese goods will only cause temporary harm to the Chinese economy as manufacturers will be forced to focus more on intrinsic growth within China rather than being dependent on foreign economies. This will fuel the next stage in the growth of China, resulting in a stronger, more independent, economic superpower which no longer needs to rely on the economies of the West. It is a little ironic that overseas institutions are being forced to sell out of such great Chinese opportunities as they are forced to take their cash off the table now.
Disclosure: At the time of writing the author did not hold shares in Bank of America (BAC).
At the beginning of the year I made a list of picks and pans for the year which I planned to review at the end of each month. Well, it's that time again and there's definitely been a lot of movement this past month!So here are the performances for 2009 to date.My Long Picks for 2009, with 04/30/09 closing prices
Himax Technologies (HIMX) - $2.73 (+69.57%)Anadys Pharmaceuticals (ANDS) - $2.50 (+59.24%)Quicksilver Gas Services LP (KGS) - $13.46 (+59.24%)Natural Resources Partners LP (NRP) - $24.09 (+38.05%)Yanzhou Coal (YZC) - $9.91 (+31.78%)Urban Outfitters (URBN) - $19.14 (+27.77%)Ecology & Environment (EEI) - $13.43 (+12.10%)Dorchester Minerals LP (DMLP) - $17.63 (+11.09%)Raven Industries (RAVN) - $24.64 (+2.24%)Highveld Steel and Vanadium (HSVLY) - $7.45 (-2.99%)UFP Technologies (UFPT) - $5.05 (-4.54%)Chase Corporation (CCF) - $9.70 (-14.08%)Hugoton Royalty Trust (HGT) - $11.10 (-30.84%) Versar, Inc. (VSR) - $2.60 (-36.89%)The top performer of the month was Yanzhou Coal (YZC) moving from $7.17 to $9.91. I continue to be bullish on commodities which I believe will be one of the few sectors that will finish the year on a high note. Urban Outfitters (URBN) also put in an impressive month, moving from $16.37 to $19.14, although I am still interested to see what this months Q1 figures look like.
Shares of Anadys Pharmaceuticals (ANDS) fell off a cliff after reporting larger than expected expenses in their recent earnings, demonstrating once again the volatility of the biotech sector. I still believe that Anadys has great potential, however, had I been sitting on a real life +300% gain from a biotech stock I would've sold right away! Anyway, let's not dwell on this, moving on.My Short Picks for 2009, with 04/30/09 closing pricesAnn Taylor Stores (ANN) - $7.39 (+46.63%)Red Robin Gourmet Burgers (RRGB) - $22.71 (+34.94%)
La-Z-Boy (LZB) - $2.85 (+31.34%)Build-A-Bear Workshop (BBW) - $5.13 (+5.56%)Office Depot (ODP) - $2.70 (-9.40%)LaCrosse Footwear (BOOT) - $7.79 (-37.58%)Bank of America (BAC) - $8.70 (-38.21%)Mercantile Bancorp (MBR) - $6.41 (-39.24%)Citigroup (C) - $2.97 (-55.74%)
Converted Organics (COIN) - $1.52 (-57.06%) Circuit City (CCTYQ) - $0.021 (-83.85%) - BankruptSmurfit Stone Container Corporation (SSCC) - $0.00 (-100%) - BankruptAs a group my short picks continued to rally this month, despite poor fundamentals. I think it's a classic case of "a rising tide floats all boats". La-Z-Boy (LZB) put in a particularly impressive month moving from $1.25 to $2.85, but I really have no idea why! In my opinion the company has poor valuation and fundamentals and I don't expect them to survive the year. Build-A-Bear Workshop (BBW) missed analyst earnings estimates with a pretty unimpressive set of figures which has since been reflected in the share price reversing most of last months gains.Well, I will review the list again at the end of May to see how my picks and pans are performing. Until then, happy investing!
Disclosure: At the time of writing the author held shares in Highveld Steel and Vanadium (HSVLY), Himax Technologies (HIMX), Hugoton Royalty Trust (HGT), Yanzhou Coal (YZC), UFP Technologies (UFPT), and Versar, Inc. (VSR).
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