F It (again)

http://wallstreetpit.com/53161-merrill-lynch-ford-f-is-headed-to-24

I've read a couple articles about how many "experts" are expecting the auto industry to improve big time in 2011. I think it might be a good idea to revisit Ford. Our first Q1 meeting is going to be a pivotal one for TM. We have just over 1K in the money market, plus our dues so we are looking at being able to potentially invest around $1500 come January.

Now might also be a good time to think about large stocks that we think might have a good run in 2011.

Chugga Chugga Chugga

So PWX is up 25%, which is enough for the Cialis to kick in if we were standing on The Street. However, one member and I recently discussed our quick trigger finger. Sure we've been banking profits like Goldman Sachs, but are we leaving money on the table like Cliff Lee?

This isn't a motion to do anything- simply a flag to keep your antennas up about this stock. Why and how and what has the price pressing onward and upward? This is a great opportunity for us to develop our research and be accountable for a projected "next step." Do you see it flat lining? Dipping or leaping? Go on record and don't be a sissy!

Hangin' With Mr. Cooper

So Cooper Tires is up 15% including B/S commissions. Does anyone have a reason why we should hold? When is our next meeting scheduled- January? I know we all have things going on but let's not lose sight of our year-end goals.

Smoke On The Water

Could what's happening behind closed doors at BOA/Countrywide come back to haunt the thriving bank?

AXAS A Question And We Have An Answer

Simple concept- we roll the dice on a SmallCap stock, the stock spikes 68% and we sell for a $92 total profit. I motion we sell Abraxas while it sits at its 52-week high, bank the profits and move to the next one.

Who loves BJ's?

BJ's Wholesale Club Inc. (NYSE: BJ) is planning to auction itself off to the highest bidder, according to a Bloomberg News report.

Bloomberg cited three unnamed sources, who reported that the decision was made after BJ's received an offer from private equity firm Leonard Green and Partners.

The Natick, Mass.-based company has not yet commented on the report.

BJ's Wholesale Club operates 191 stores nationally, including 20 stores in Massachusetts.

BJ's employs about 25,000 people

http://www.bizjournals.com/boston/news/2010/11/10/report-bjs-up-for-sale.html?ed=2010-11-10&s=article_du&ana=e_du_pub

Nine percent? Yahoo!

Guys Yahoo! is up 5% today on takeover rumors. As a result, the stock is up 3% YTD. Experts think going private is the only way the company can trim the fat and restructure. Any thoughts on banking 9% including buy/sell commission and unloading it?

http://cnnmoney.mobi/wk_snarticle?articleId=urn:newsml:CNNMoney.com:20101109:thebuzz:1&category=cnnm_business

revisiting PWX

fellas - last time PWX was trading in the 13's we passed a motion to sell. Due to a Zecco error of some sort, the sale never went through. If it had, we could have bought back in at $11.70-$11.80 and be reselling now.

How does everyone feel about this? If it is the same way, then we should try to do the same thing again now - sell our position, and immediately place a limit purchase to buy it again at $11.88. Historically unless something big happens PWX won't be shooting up much higher than $13.50 where it is now.

Kinect the dots..

Guys - I've been thinking about this since Saturday but keep forgetting to post.
I think we should consider investing some money market into Microsoft (MSFT). Tomorrow, Microsoft XBOX launches "Kinect" which is their response to the Wii. Sony has released one too - but microsoft has something different... the player IS the controller.. making it the first system that will have technology allowing the player to interact without even holding a controller.

I foresee it being a holiday season winner and think MSFT will sell tons of units through Q1. Even if this isn't the case, the company presents a fair value now compared to it's prices this year and could be a strong tech play for us in the long run.

High as a Kite

Fellas - we have 3 stocks trading at their 52 week high. Just want to open discussion on this in case some of you weren't aware. I suggest we all look at them over the weekend and see if we want to stay in the game or sell/rebuy on next dip.

AXAS, IMAX, WTR - all are trading at or near 52 week highs.

-PREZ

Thick head, smooth shaft

Gents my selection is nearer and dearer to you all than to me. No, it's not Jesus Incorporated. Callaway Golf Company (ELY) has a presence in 110 countries selling equipment and apparel under the Top Flite, Odyssey, Ben Hogan and of course the Callaway name. They just recently announced a corporate restructuring to occur over the next eighteen months in response to the shifting economy. The concept has focused on streamlining production and distribution throughout North America, as well as manufacturing initiatives in Europe and Southeast Asia. Projected revenue forecasts that international business will generate more than half the company's revenue as early as 2012. Closer to home, they launched Calloway Golf Preowned for players to buy certified used product who may not be able to otherwise afford it. With the season winding down, I recommend we scoop this affordable company, let it hibernate and roll it in six months when the winter breaks.

AA....what night is your meeting?

Guess whos back, back again! AA. I would like to recommend our old friend Alcoa. Alcoa posted their earnings today and that help push the stock up to 12.89. from the low 12's. they company has recently raised its expected annual global aluminum forecast from 12 to 13%. I think we should jump on it this time around. The are the giant of the aluminum industry and think this company will continue to grow as money is spent for their type of products. check out this article

http://www.minyanville.com/businessmarkets/articles/alcoa-stock-tupperware-expedia-99-cent/10/8/2010/id/30476

great info

Extra, Extra, REIT all about it!

My choice for Q4 2010 is UDR, Inc. (UDR). UDR, Inc. is a REIT (Real Estate Investment Trust) that owns, manages, and operates nearly 46,000 apartment homes primarily in other parts of the country than the Northeast, however the basis for my decision to recommend this stock now is their recent change to thier portfolio - entry into the Northeast market.

The Northeast market is considered a "High Barrier to Entry" market, meaning that the costs are substantial and the relationships are also difficult to make in order to enter the apartment market, primarily in Boston and New York City. UDR recently completed the purchase of two properties both luxury communities, one located downtown Boston and the other in Braintree. There is a 3rd on the way in Needham/Natick area. I can personally attest to the rental markets in those cities as being very strong, Natick/Needham and Boston more so than Braintree. It is my opinion that UDR will continue this trend of entry into these markets and will be poised to make huge gains in revenue and profit from their new strategy.

I will discuss more when we meet, but for now please feel free to read more on UDR at their website (www.UDR.com) and on google finance (http://www.google.com/finance?q=NYSE:UDR)

Progressive

My stock selection for this quarter is Progressive Corp (PGR). You all have seen their annoying commercials with Flo - the insurance rep. They have been marketing like hell the last year or so and they are expanding into more and more states. Our portfolio lacks any insurance companies and i think we need to get on board. These companies make money - and almost every state requires car insurance in order to drive. I chose Progressive because I think they are on the rise and the more states they expand into, the more customers they will have. They have good financials; a nice PE 13.00 and a good profit margin and return on assets.

I will tell you more about this stock on Sunday - but I think this is good move for us to make some money and diversify our portfolio. See you all in the 'Ric

And You Can Take That To The Bank

When we were taking Theta Mutual real estate acquisitions, BoA was a 60% profit for us. Now, they are down to 20%. We are chillin, sittin on about half a million (ok, a few hundred) and I think it makes sense to pony up and grab another 15 shares of BoA. It currently sits at $13.40 and we own it for an average of $11.03/s. The motion is we set a buy at $12/s to bring our ownership total to 12.6 shares each. This is the stock that we seem to have unanimous long-term confidence in. It's also the same company that, in the start of the recession in spring '08, we bought and sold in the low $30s. Let's scoop it up like a ground ball and keep the conservative portion of our empire climbing. Do I hear a second?

Fight FiOS With Fire

In Q3 of 2009, Comcast was on the table and we collectively opted against it. On 10/1/09, it was reported on TM.com that Comcast had struck a content-sharing deal with GE to distribute programming online and on mobile devices using one another's products and technologies. It's been nearly nine months of investigating and another major antitrust approval came through today in favor of the in the agreement.

Although the majority of TM board members are on the FiOS wagon, Comcast's Xfinity push and their continued reach into other media has brought them up 8% in 2 months and nearly 30% since we considered holding the company. A P/E of 14.7, 107k employees, nearly $2b in free cash and a price tag of under $20/s makes this an attractive play in the broadcast television sector.

Clean up on isle 5....

My pick for this qtr is Shaw Group (SHAW). They are a multi-disipline engineering firm with a fairly large market share in the oil clean-up jobs in the Gulf Coast. They are trading around 35 right now. I think they will see a spike in revenue due the gulf coast clean-up effort which will easily extend into the next year and probably beyond. They are a very large company with work in a variety of diciplines so if one sector takes a hit, they hopefully won't be hit too hard.

Intel inside

My pick is intel. We all know what they do... Provide chips for the most popular computers and appliances in the world.

Intel is a play on the economic recovery much like Dell was. Having recently reported great numbers, intel has proved they are a powerhouse. Intel currently is trading in the low 20's, and would be a safe long term play for our portfolio. They are time tested and at the top of their class. Despite competition in the ,market intel has consistently persevered.

I am transferring my dues right now, see you all on sat.

Who got snaps on the Petro

My pick this quarter is Abraxas Petroleum Corp, aka axas. They are an energy company that is mainly in business for the development and production of oil and natural gas. In march, they sold off assets that gave them the ability to cut its debt in half and boost its its capital program by 50%. I think this is why the stock took a big jump in march. The company has identified another group of assets that is twice as large as the last selloff, which it will sell in a similar fashion. This is what caught my eye early last month, and also why i think the stock will rise again in the short term. The current liabilities are 185M while their assests are worth 178M, meaning this could be a good time to get in with them before they have more assests than liabilities.

I think the oil market is a good play and this allows us to get into the market without spending over $60 per share. I think natural gas will take the torch from oil and take over as the main source of energy. I have a few reasons , but the two major ones are the abundance of natty gas in North America and the fact it burns cleaner.

The stock is at about $3/share. I would think stock would be good for a short term move. I would think we can buy it between $2.80-$3.15 and should sell it once it hits $5, maybe $6. I think we could see the stock double in the within the next 12 months. I suspect the economy will begin to make a strong turning point in 2011.

my pick Cooper Tire and Rubber

Hey guys. My pick for this quarter is Cooper Tire and Rubber. (CTB) I have been looking at this stock for a few weeks now and from everything I have read it is a very solid company with good financials and a great business plan. Also, the automobile industry is poised to very well in the next few years. Right now most people are bullish on it and have given it a buy recommendation. It is trading at $21.33 as of this morning. I have a copy of there 2009 financial statement which gives you a great idea of the companies goals and what they think the future holds for them. I will send that in an email because its kind of long.

Will the markets fall back to the March of 2009 days?

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/8-Problems-That-Could-Trigger-usnews-2034065513.html?x=0

something to consider when selecting an investment for our next quarter

Apple contract with AT&T is up end of 2010

http://www.boston.com/business/ticker/2010/06/verizon_wireles_11.html

i know this is a very expensive stock, but i have to think that apple selling iphones to any cell phone carrier will only dramatically increase their profits. Next year, apple projects they will sell 12 million iphones! its a very tough buy when we have little money, but maybe an option we should consider....

Choo-choooooo!

Looks like things are turning around for our friends at PWX.

We're approaching Jewly and with the holiday and vacation time, it may be difficult to coordinate our next live meeting. How does the weekend of the 10th/11th look? Location?

We're inside 90 days to Cheechfest!

Taking BP

Guys it's clear British Petroleum is f-ed. When Exxon pissed the bed in '89, their company image suffered, but they rebounded and are now considered an industry leader. As we approach our next meeting, monitor BP trading. They've fallen 50% from $60.48 to $31.48. Sure consumers are boycotting their 13,000 gas stations, but those are franchises owned by independents and have lesser effect on the finances of the parent company. I know this crosses the investment ethics line like Philip Morris, but if our goal is ultimately to make money, we should consider it. Besides, when the leaky pipe is plugged, there is little doubt Wall Street will start shorting the bleep out of it. So are you in- or out?

VIV

So no comments on my VIV purchase, which dropped to the target buy price I had mentioned, then rose to $28.36 (over 10%) a few days later. It has since settled back in at $26 and change. Are we just waiting on our next meeting or are we looking to do anything with our money market?

Look out for that bear!

http://www.usatoday.com/money/markets/2010-05-26-pullbacks26_ST_N.htm

solid article! It explains what goes down must come up!

Vivo Participacoes SA

Hey guys - I wanted to take a moment to introduce a mid quarter pick for a place to put our money market funds. The pick is Vivo Participacoes SA (VIV) - it is the largest mobile phone operator in Brazil. An obvious play on the strength of the Brazilian economy, VIV is a company that controls the majority of the 180 million strong cell phone subscriber base in Brazil (accounting for nearly 90% of the population). That number will continue to grow to larger numbers as shown by this article that touches on population growth and retail sales growth in brazil reaching as high as 25% year over year.

Given the strong economic growth in Brazil and the overall strength of the worldwide mobile phone market, I think VIV is a great way for us to get in on a well priced company that recently received rumors of a 50% buyout that sent shares up over 10%. Given that the buyout has since been put to rest, my vote is to set a buy price on VIV of $25.50 representing its price before the rumors set in.

2 more for the mix

Since DISCA doesn't seem to fit in our price range and is trading too high...I'd like to hear your thoughts on two cheaper stocks that i think would make good investments.

First is Ebay (EBAY). Its trading at about 23.00/s right now. As you all know its a solid company that will likely benefit from the up-turn in the economy. People are starting to spend more money, but at the same time spend it smartly. People are looking for deals - and eBay is the go-to place to find them. Its got a decent P/E ratio (12) and the company is profitable. I would propose we pick up about 15 shares of eBay and hold onto it for the year through the holidays.

Second is Pfizer Inc. (PFE). Pfizer is a global pharmaceutical company that makes prescription and over the counter medicine, vaccines, nutritional health products, and animal medicines for livestock and pets. They have a bunch of products out on the market and have been a very successful company over the years with a solid reputation. They also acquired Wyeth in 2009, and Wyeth makes many of the of the over counter drugs you see all the time (Advil, Chapstick, Robotussin, Preperation H (mikey's favorite). You would honestly be surprised how much medicine Pfizer/Wyeth is responsible for. They have a decent P/E (12) and are currently trading around 17 a share. I would propose we by 15 shares of Pfizer and hold onto them for 6-9 months and see how things shake out.

What do you guys think?

are you SIRI-ous?

http://seekingalpha.com/article/202222-the-biggest-problem-facing-sirius-xm?source=feed

found a great article! I am still not completely ready to recommend this stock, but as i was researching on my lunch, i found this interesting article. it also covers short selling and shows a real example. Short selling is something that i have brought up a few times. We have stayed away due to the complexity of it, which is the best move for now.

First And Ten

After researching this weekend's offerings, I motion we move money from our cash account to purchase twenty shares of NewsCorp (NWSA). Although IMAX falls under the motion picture business, NWSA expands our firm's reach into print and published media. NewsCorp is said to hold the most cash in the entertainment industry, is bullish on 3D television and projects to beat it's 3Q numbers handily. In addition, the entire sector is flying- Time Warner, NewsCorp and CBS have all touched 52-week highs within the last few weeks. Word is NewsCorp has received inquires about selling MySpace to international networking companies and such a move would clean what many consider a toxic asset off the books.

I do like DISCA, but I'm hesitant to commit considering it reached it's all-time high today. I do acknowledge that the stock is up 10% since it was brought up in our meeting, which leads us to believe that it may be time to consider move expensive blue-chips.

Please keep in mind that this forum is publicly accessible through search engines, so offline discussions are best suited for email. I look forward to hearing everyone's feedback.

Extra, Extra, read all about it!

Fellas, back on Jan. 24th I posted this on our blog about NewsCorp.

Since that posting, NWSA has risen over 22% to date -- however I still don't think we have to rule out future gains. With Avatar being released on DVD there is more money to be made as fans run out to buy the highest grossing movie of all time. In the first four days of release on DVD over $130m in sales were brought in on DVD and blu-ray.

Keeping it short and sweet - I think ThetaMutual can afford to gamble still on NWSA and still expect another 10-15-20% return over the coming months.

0 For The Century

Pre-call thoughts:

1. Do Not Pass Go- Rule against immediately selling PWX. Although we're still at double-digit profits, the stock is down 5% since Wednesday. Call me greedy, but I'm not ready to pull the trigger for a Monday open.
2. Turnovers Cost Us The Game- Lack of communication resulted in whiffing on two 20% wins. Then, we call a special meeting and everyone ignores the noontime submission deadline. We're making the same mistakes too regularly. Why?
3. EuroTrash- Greeks today protested the proposed $165b bailout, fearing that budget cuts for federal employees would worsen an already crippled economy. In unrelated news, Google announced this week that they are pulling out of China, spiking Baidu by $90 in a single day! If we're going foreign, check out China Security & Surveillance Technology (CSR) trading at a modest $5.95/s.

I'm anxious to hear everyone's take. Unfortunately, the overall energy level of TM has declined in the last six months. It's unfortunate, as there are so many good buys out there that we have been a part of (we can tell our kids "I remember selling BAC for $31/s and buying it for $6/s in the same year). I'm just afraid the rut we're in will cause us to miss out even more.

HP + Palm = Fist In The Groin

Looks like HP is the leading candidate to scoop Palm, spiking the stock 25% today alone. Whoops.

Have we decided whether to call a phone meeting this weekend to figure out what to do about international investments or money market allocation? We keep recycling ideas about making moves and seizing opportunities without taking initiative.

I motion that we get picks to the blog by Saturday night and plan a Sunday AM call. The stock doesn't need to be new to the group, but at least present a compelling arguement for us to purchase. I know we all have things going on, but this is real money we're investing and leaving it on the table is neither productive or progressive.

Second the motion for a 10a call on Sunday? Alternative?

NBG

We missed the boat on this one and its my fault. i was on the fence and would have been vote 3. I dont know about trying to get in at this point. If anything, maybe it will come back down under 3.00 and we can get in at that point?

PWX

Fellas, PWX has climbed big time today up nearly 8%. I motion we sell and look for a re-entry when it dips again. PWX recently reported a loss and is trading up only on news that perhaps their loss wasn't as severe as it's peers in the industry. We can lock in about 15% in profits now after commissions and I feel as though we'll have another chance to buy back again in the coming months to ride this train up again.

IMAX-ed out

Iron Man 2 is the summer's most anticipated blockbuster and it's set to be released on IMAX. Check please!

Discovery Zone?

Now that we have a good amount of cash in the money market, what do you guys think about revisiting Discovery Communications (DISCA). It hasn't risen too much since I suggested it (31 to 36/s). I still think there is huge potential for this stock to rise even higher. As I'm writing this, i am watching insects on LIFE scurry around and collect food for their young larva... 1 of 33.8 MILLION people who tune in. Oprah is a money machine and i'm willing to roll the dice on anything she's involved in...I think there is money to be made here.

Thoughts? We could get in with about 15 shares and still have 100 buck in the money market?

Littering and, littering and...

Guys I checked Zecco and didn't see a trade execution. Is EMC gone? It's up 4% since we voted to dump it. Confirmation?

We can move IMAX right now for a 7% gain including buy/sell commission and GE for 15% profit.

YOUR thoughts?

Motion In The Ocean

Gents as we enter our third year of playing the market together, it's a pivotal time to look over our should and revisit our vision statement. If our goal is truly to increase our value every half-decade, I motion that we sell our stake in EMC and bank a 20% post-commission profit.

In the last five years, EMC spent only a brief period above $20/s and that was the time leading up to the Presidential election when aspirations of an inspired economy drove up the market. Jim introduced us to the company as an undervalued leader in the tech sector. We climbed on board and picked up the stock at $15.90 (including buy/sell commissions).

Months later, we watched the company fall substantially to $9.98. Most of our holdings were negatively impacted by the credit freeze and market conditions but, over time, EMC clawed back from that low to touch it's 52-week high this week.

In unrelated news yesterday, the SEC filed a major suit against Wall Street behemoth Goldman Sachs Group. Although GS came out right away and denied the charges, its stock fell a punishing 12% with the news, causing the financial sector to dip as well (BAC dropped 6%). As scandal detail unfolds early next week, expect investor skepticism to keep activity low and for blue chip values to shrink as a result. If GS, the darling of Wall Street for not taking TARP money and continuing to turn massive profits through the recession, is found to be tainted, expect another lull in trading and a hit to our portfolio. There is no better time, with EMC at a 2-year high, for us to bank our profits, sell our stake and prepare to rebuy HNT, EMC or BAC as the GS story unfolds.

Do you dis/agree and why? I'm interested to hear feedback from each of you and creative feedback other than "second that" or "yes" is strongly encouraged.

Bank And Move On?

Since TM has been banking money in an effort to get back to our mission statement and double our money every five years, what do you guys think about banking the 20% profits in EMC and selling it?

Happy trails HNT

Just a quick update.

HNT was sold today for 22.8/s. We made just over 50% on our investment.

Not too shabby.

MIkes Pick

whats uo boys. I dont have time to write a huge thing cus I am running late for work..my pick is TIE

Titanium Metals Corporation

check it out and I will send a more in depth email tomorrow.

IMAX

Guys I like IMAX, the 3D movie theater technology company currently trading in the mid-$17/s. Traditionally known for documentary and educational movies, IMAX 3D released four feature films on their screens last year. Among those was the most expensive film ever made, resulting in the biggest box office earnings ever. Since Avatar, over a dozen films have been contracted this year alone, boosting the stock 25% YTD.

An IMAX movie is about $12, verusus $8 for a traditional theater- an amount that most children, teens and parents can swallow for the experience. With the continued success of Pixar and animated films with the advancement of such action films as Clash Of The Titans, this sector will continue to thrive.

Aloha mofos!

My pick for Q2 is Hawaiian Holdings (HA) - who's principal business it's ownership of Hawaiian Airlines.

You might be wondering.. "why buy into airlines right now?" "didn't this guy say buying JetBlue was an awful idea 6 months ago?" Well my answer is simple... Hawaiian is one of the only profitable airlines operating.. and not just barely profitable like Southwest and JetBlue who average a few cents per share in profits -- Hawaiian Holdings reported a staggering $2.23 per share profit in 2009 in a down year! The only other airline I have found in that ballpark is Alaska Air, a similarly sized airline trading at a steep $41+ per share or about 12 times earnings. To contrast - HA trades at only about 3 times earnings, indicating it is under priced and ready for a bump.

Hawaiian Air execs are hungry for growth, with expansion hopes to Asia in 2010 and beyond -- they are looking for ways to cut costs and becoming a bigger player in the international stage. here is a quote from the CEO -

Dunkerley acknowledged he is constantly reordering a "wish list" of future destinations for the airline, but is keeping his eyes primarily along the Asian-Pacific Rim, which has the greatest potential for fast growth.

"We are planning for the future," he said. "Having been able to earn profits throughout this recessionary period, we've been able to stay on our long-term growth and development path, [while] our competitors have had to take a fairly substantial number of routes off the map." more on this article here.

With the recent chatter of Airline mergers we will be seeing many airlines getting a boost in confidence from investors, and I think this is a great value stock for a profitable airline with an appetite for growth (and the cash to fuel it).

See you guys on Sunday

ISCO

My pick for this qtr is International Stem Cell Corp (ISCO). I know we have talked about getting some biotech stocks into our portfolio in the past, but we concluded that we did not know enough about them to invest anything significant. My pick back at that meeting was Amylin which is actually up quite a bit right now (not that I knew that would happen). My rational for picking ISCO is that if we want to get in on the biotech, we might as well start small with stock with minimal risk and high potential for reward. Companies like ISCO are making some big breakthroughs in stem cell research and now that we don't have a Jesus freak in office, I think stem cell treatments will soon become common. This stock is cheap (around $2). I say we invest $50 - $75 and see what happens. A co-worker of mine picked up Biotime last year at a similar price, and its now up at $7 a share. Who knows if that will happen here, but its worth a shot. I like our odds here more than Tiger in the Masters. Its a gamble and we are Kenny Rogers. Below is an overview of the company. See you all on Sat.


International Stem Cell Corporation is a California-based biotechnology company focused on therapeutic and research products. ISCO’s core technology, parthenogenesis, results in creation of pluripotent human stem cells from unfertilized oocytes (eggs). hpSCs avoid ethical issues associated with the use or destruction of viable human embryos. ISCO scientists have created the first parthenogenetic, homozygous stem cell line that can be a source of immune-matched therapeutic cells to minimize immune rejection after transplantation into hundreds of millions of individuals of differing sexes, ages and racial groups. This offers the potential to create the first true stem cell bank, UniStemCell™, while avoiding the ethical issue of using fertilized eggs. ISCO also produces and markets specialized cells and growth media for therapeutic research worldwide through its subsidiary Lifeline Cell Technology. More information is available at ISCO’s website, www.internationalstemcell.com.

April Showers

Gents- here comes HNT! It's almost back to its pre-dip high. We know we could have sold, banked and rebought, but the good news is it looks like we didn't end up losing ground. Did we finalize 4/11 at the recently acquired Flynn Estate? Is it a yay/nay on the Sportsbook.com Tiger action? I motion that we throw $25 down if we have it in free cash to make that Sunday even more eventful. Motion seconded? When do you need picks and money by?

Evergreen Solar disappoints yet again

Evergreen Solar (ESLR) again has disappointed The Street by missing earnings again. Evergreen ended up losing 48 cents per share vs. analyst estimates of a loss of 9 cents per share, though ESLR did beat revenue estimates slightly.

What happens from here? ESLR has been missing earnings quarter after quarter and not by small margins. Further, there is talk that ESLR will be charged with a loss on their Sovello venture in Europe for failure to file correctly for a loan they received - meaning they may need to repay that loan in a time when there isn't much cash on the books.

Year to date the whole solar sector seems to be down between 10-20%, ESLR is down about 16% YTD. Industry leader First Solar (FSLR) is by far the strongest of the pack and they are down a similar amount YTD.

Solar stocks are all extremely speculative now with the exception of FSLR. It's my prediction that ESLR will continue in a downward spiral this quarter and the rest of this year, ending up around .80/share while speculative investors hold for some positive news to happen for once with this troubled company.

It should be noted that ThetaMutual no longer holds a position in ESLR and sold it's position at around $2/share last year.

Analysts Raise NewsCorp Estimates

Don't say you didn't hear it from me a week ago!

http://news.moneycentral.msn.com/provider/providerarticle.aspx?feed=AP&date=20100202&id=11080012

MOTO Update

What's up boys? Motorola stock took a big hit today as the company forecast a loss this quarter due to their increased spending getting the android smartphone out on the market. Despite the fact that the Droid phone sold very well, it did not produce the revenue that investors had hoped it would. When we purchased MOTO we were hoping that the droid sales would boost profits and the stock would rise after the holidays. Unfortunately, that didn't happen.

What are your thoughts on our next step with MOTO? Should we hold on and hope that they get their finances in order and the smart phone continues to sell? Or should we dump the stock, take a loss and invest in another security - News Corp?

http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=7800821988700778743

Sometimes we swing and miss - its all a part of the game.

News Corp bet big on Avatar - and that bet should pay off

Many of News Corps investments are somewhat questionable -- MySpace is losing ground on a daily basis to Facebook and other rivals, and its investments in paper publications can be looked at as a thing of the past, but News Corp also owns 20th Century Fox -- the studio that is behind Avatar. Avatar is slated to surpass Titanic in sales by the end of this week.. only a couple months after having been released... by comparison, Titanic took 10 months to hit the sales target that Avatar is about to beat in a fifth of the time. Going by those numbers, not only will it surpass Titanic, but it should absolutely CRUSH it in sales globally taking in over 2 Billion. At current numbers News Corp stands to net about $250,000,000 during the end of Q1 2010 and should report those figures during their Q1 earnings calls. After that I'm sure you'll continue seeing profits pour in for the next 6 months or so while DVD sales go out (even though it should be noted that 3D films typically gross less on DVD than normally 2D movies do).

News Corp is currently trading at $12.41/share and I think it's a stock that should be watched over the coming months for some serious action.

HNT, etc.

Hey guys,

Any other thoughts/opinions on Healthnet (HNT)? So far we've heard from me and Mike (via email -- for some reason he's anti-blog). Since Joe's post, HNT has slipped 4% (which in all fairness is consistent with the rest of the market). I'm not lobbying my position in any way I just want to hear some other thoughts on the matter.

On another note, I've added some links from the option writer to the blog as well as some other ads. I've also updated our ticker to reflect our current 10 holdings.

What Can Brown Do For Us?

HNT is up over $26/s and most of our holdings are climbing. It will be interesting to monitor whether a delay in health reform will negatively impact the industry's stocks. Also notice if tech stocks stall as a chain reaction and see if financials spike as a counter to the proposed bank tax. Or, don't.

Theta Vs Wild

Happy 2k10 boys! This is gonna be our year, i can feel it! Lets start this decade off on the right foot and make some money with our 1st qtr pick. I really like the picks that you guys have submitted so far - lots a variety and lots of potential. Joe stole a bit of my thunder as I was also looking into water/sewer utility stocks and WTR was one i was looking at as well. So instead of submitting a similar stock pick this qtr, i figured i'd go in a different direction and pick a stock in a sector close to Joe's heart - Broadcasting.

My stock pick for this qtr is Discovery Communications (DISCA). A channel that in my opinion has has the best shows on TV hands down. If i could only chose 3 cable networks to watch the rest of my life - Discovery would be #1 on my list. Now this stock is currently selling a bit higher than what we usually target (32), but I believe its worth taking a serious look at. They own the discovery channel, learning network, animal planet, and also they are in a partnership with Oprah for her own channel that is set to launch in 2011 (OWN) once Oprah's show is off the air. Discovery made a killing this past year in a down market (it was trading at 15 back in March) and all things point to them having a great 2010. They are beginning to become very big in international markets (such as Brazil and Mexico), which will only make them more profitable.
And once Oprah's channel takes off - who knows what will happen. Its an expensive stock, that is selling high right now, but they are a very profitable company and i believe they will continue to be for the forseable future.

Mikes PIck

"whats up boys. This quarter I am going with a company called Cogent (COGT). They are a provider of automated fingerprint identification systems and other fingerprint biometrics solutions to governments, law enforcement agencies and other organizations worldwide.

I started thinking about the national security sector when the latest attempted attack on us happened. It only failed because of a brave person on the plane that risked there life to save others. Homeland security is, or is now, a top priority of out fearless leader after this latest attack. He will be forcing other countries that have flights going to the US to beef up there security a great deal. I have to say that I was looking at a few other companies until Cramer mentioned this one on his show. It is trading much lower than some of the other ones and it is definitely in our price range. (10.70) I think 2010 will be a good year for this sector as we increase our efforts to protect this country and it is something that will not be going away for a long time, unfortunately."

Brazillian Girls are Hot

My pick for Q1 2010 is Banco Bradesco (BBD). BBD is a "giant bank for the little guy" according to Hoovers.com. As one of the largest banks in Brazil, serving low to moderate income families, this bank has on average tripled each year over the past 10 years. A $100 investment in BBD in 1999 would be worth 6 million dollars today -- think about that! Brazil is a hot market, and it's GDP is expected to grow over 6% in 2010, which means more cash in the pockets of our friends in Brazil, and in turn more deposits in the coffers of BBD. BBD also offers pension and insurance services. BBD is in excellent financial health with excellent profits. Currently trading at around 16 times price to earnings, it's priced about right for entry and should be viewed as a long term hold. Heck.. if BBD keeps up their performance for 10 more years, we all could be sitting very pretty in a decade! Plus, Brazilian Girls Really Are Hot!

Piss And Drink

The same approach was again taken to diversify sectors and this selection is close to home for our friend Eggman. I motion for AquaAmerica Inc. (WTR), a water distribution and waste water treatment company out of Pennsylvania. The company has began by providing running water to sinks, spouts, showers and sh:tters over 125 years ago and went public in 1971. Through a business model of municipal contracts and acquisitions, they have grown from servicing a few counties to over three million customers in thirteen states. They've paid a dividend the last twelve years in a row, each year higher than the last.

We are certainly in a position to capitalize on risky tech or financial stocks, but our laid back approach to portfolio maintenance steered me to this more conservative play. I look forward to each of your selections and seeing you guys this weekend.