Stock Pick of the Week: W. E. 21 Mar 2014

[clarkrl2]

Rules:
1. Selection must be made prior to the opening bell on the first trading day of the week.
2. Selection may be changed up to the opening bell.
3. Starting price is the opening price on first trading day of week.
4. Ending price is closing price on last trading day of week.
5. No options or complex trading vehicles. Only stocks and ETFs.
6. Opening prices will be those found at MSN Money. Any disputed opening price will be resolved using the price listed at Yahoo Finance historical quotes

To enter the game:
List your stock's symbol, Long or Short, Company name, what the company does and why you like the selection.


Congratulations to last week's winner "Value Buy".

Moderators please pin the thread.

I will be out of town later this week and will not be able to post final results until Sunday. If someone wants to update the results Friday that would be great.

 

[Deleted]

KMI - (L)

[ModE98]

Let's try F (long) - Ford Motors.  Maybe some cars will be sold as winter fades and roads not filled with snow and ice.

[clarkrl2]

Long STRA    (Strayer Education - Education and Training Services)

From the earnings beat MRQ with recent upward revisions screen. The stock is oversold.

[uncle23]

...



FCEL .............long



temted with  PLUG  but betting with FCEL

[alliesmom]

ETAK - long.  It announces this week and will very likely be cash flow positive. It's a neat company with a lot of major long term potential. 

It has two companies with huge growth potential in one. 

Elephant Talk provides one-stop pay as you go software for cel phone service companies.  This provides monthly recurring revenue and they receive $.80-$1.00/month/subscriber.  The service has an 80% profit margin.  They have been transitioning into this service and all systems are now go (or should be with this earnings announcement.) 

They have deals with Vodafone in Spain (which liked the trial run so much they negotiated the long term contract at a higher rate and agreed to prepay in $10 million increments for the next 5 years), Iusacell which is a cel phone provider in Mexico with over 8 million subscribers which should be all transitioned over to ETAK's system within the next few quarters and Axion/Zain which is one of 3 companies allowed to provide cel phone service in Saudi Arabia. They also have 10-15 more deals in the works.  Every time they have been in the running for a contract against the big name brand companies they get the contract.  Iusacell alone should bring in over $50 million/year in profit. 

Elephant Talk also has ValidSoft.  ValidSoft protects sensitive data in the cloud.  They haven't made any real money yet but have a lot of deals in place that could bring in some serious money.  They have also won a lot of awards for their software.  In November it was announced that FICO which 80% of the financial institutions in the world are part of would offer their software.  The ValidSoft software makes it very easy and fast for a company to determine whether there is credit card fraud or if it's a valid transaction by seeing if the customer's cel phone is in the same place as the terminal being used to process the transaction.  In trial runs it reduced the amounts of false positives by 70%.  Also, ValidSoft is the only company in the world with 3 European privacy seals.  Validsoft also has major voice biometrics software that was one of the few companies that successfully completed trials by NIST, which is a US government agency.  It has a ton of patents which creates a nice moat around it.  At some point VS and elephant talk will be split into separate companies. 

This is a cash cow and could easily be a $100 million company within the next 12-18 months.  The stock price is awful now but there is real potential with this one.  I think the earnings this week will open some eyes and give the stock a nice pop. 







 

[kadee79]

OPK, long...drugs

I made it this week!   The over 500 onion plants are now weed FREE!  What a job that was.  There are also no more weeds under the grape vine wires....now to get both areas mulched this week....I hope!

Rain, rain, rain today!  I did get one kind of funky weed we have here ALL pulled out of the yard before the rain hit.  It gets tall (1-2') and has a seed head pop up on top that turns red, have no idea the name of it.  But it can sure make a yard look like no one cares for it!

VB, we had a head of cabbage from the veggie bed with our corned beef the other night! Have another one that will be ready soon!   May need to pick peas this week too...or next week, depending on our weather.

[architecto25]

    SYN   (long)   Synthetic Biologics

This stock closed Friday at only $3.13

52 wk. high/low      $3.20/$.95

Biotechnology company founded Jan. 2001

Hdq. in Ann Arbor, MI

only 14 employees.

Founder/CEO announced resigning in

Feb. 2014 ... but stock has been in a nice

uptrend. Was $1. in Dec.

.....figure that one out

[Value Buy]

I want to know where Kadee lives.

We are still in the land of snow and ice, but the large trees are beginning to show growing buds on their tips now despite below freezing weather. I think last year at this time I might have mowed once, but it is weeks away this year.

My pick this week?

Two choices. ConAgra Food Inc, ticker CAG, or Wet Seal Inc, ticker WTSL

Both report this week and describing their charts as terrible, is being generous.

I will go with ConAgra Food Inc, ticker CAG, and go long

(could of shorted it just as easily)

[clarkrl2]

Newcomer alliesmom schools the regulars on day one by taking the lead. kadee66 also has a good start in second and ModE90 is the only other player beating the benchmark.

Player	L or S	Symbol	$ Open	$ Close	% Close
alliesmom	L	ETAK	$1.32	$1.36	3.03%
kadee66	L	OPK	$9.77	$9.96	1.94%
Mod E	L	F	$15.18	$15.28	0.66%
BenchMark	L	QQQ	$89.24	$89.45	0.24%
Value Buy	L	CAG	$29.54	$29.56	0.07%
D. I.	L	KMI	$31.77	$31.68	-0.28%
clarkrl2	L	STRA	$46.35	$45.72	-1.36%
architecto25	L	SYN	$3.16	$3.05	-3.48%
uncle.23	L	FCEL	$3.19	$2.82	-11.60%

[kadee79]

VB, I'm in S.W. Ga.!

We got a total between yesterday & today of just under 4 1/2" of rain! We are a BIT soggy!

[clarkrl2]

ModE90 pushes his Ford out to a narrow lead. kadee66 is second and the only other player beating the benchmark.

Player	L or S	Symbol	$ Open	$ Close	% Close
Mod E	L	F	$15.18	$15.49	2.04%
kadee66	L	OPK	$9.77	$9.93	1.64%
BenchMark	L	QQQ	$89.24	$90.53	1.45%
clarkrl2	L	STRA	$46.35	$46.86	1.10%
Value Buy	L	CAG	$29.54	$29.81	0.91%
architecto25	L	SYN	$3.16	$3.15	-0.32%
D. I.	L	KMI	$31.77	$31.56	-0.66%
alliesmom	L	ETAK	$1.32	$1.18	-10.61%
uncle.23	L	FCEL	$3.19	$2.75	-13.79%

[alliesmom]

ETAK screwed up royally today.  I still like their fundamentals but someone there really screwed up on the press management side of things.  Sigh. 

[architecto25]

alliesmom, .....welcome to this contest board. And "keep the faith" on ETAK. I was pleased you picked it this week; I've been following it for some time ... even have "tauted" it to a couple of friends.

[kadee79]

Hi Alliesmom! Welcome to the boards and the game! Glad to "see" a new face!

We got another 1" of rain overnight! Ack!

[djAdvocate]

i just found this thread.  but if i were to have noticed earlier, i like Luna Gold this week.  it is reporting earnings today.

bigcharts.marketwatch.com/quickchart/quickchart.asp?symb=CA%3ALGC&insttype=Stock

it is DOWN so far this week, so maybe y'all would have no objections? 

edit: it closed last friday at $1.28, and is currently trading @ $1.23 on the pink sheets under LGCUF.

edit2: long.

[clarkrl2]

djpolldancer: This week's contest is closed but I will soon open a thread for next week since I will be busy over the next few days. Please post your pick to that thread.

[djAdvocate]

Mar 19, 2014 13:07:18 GMT -5 clarkrl2 said:

djpolldancer: This week's contest is closed but I will soon open a thread for next week since I will be busy over the next few days. Please post your pick to that thread.

even though the stock is down?  i am spotting you guys 4%.  C'MON!

[alliesmom]

Thanks for the welcome and for the encouragement.  I followed ETAK for a year and a half before I dived in.  I'm up quite a bit even now but I'm not sure what to make of the debacle yesterday.  I'm not experienced enough to know if it means that it's a sinking ship or if this is just a blip.

[clarkrl2]

architecto25 takes over the lead with a huge gain on a day when the rest of us were trying to keep our heads above water. ModE90 is the only other player beating the benchmark.

Player	L or S	Symbol	$ Open	$ Close	% Close
architecto25	L	SYN	$3.16	$3.45	9.18%
Mod E	L	F	$15.18	$15.48	1.98%
BenchMark	L	QQQ	$89.24	$90.04	0.90%
Value Buy	L	CAG	$29.54	$29.59	0.17%
clarkrl2	L	STRA	$46.35	$46.40	0.11%
kadee66	L	OPK	$9.77	$9.72	-0.51%
D. I.	L	KMI	$31.77	$31.06	-2.23%
alliesmom	L	ETAK	$1.32	$1.14	-13.64%
uncle.23	L	FCEL	$3.19	$2.64	-17.24%

[clarkrl2]

Note to all: I will be unable to post any updates until Sunday. If someone else would like to post the results Friday after the close that would be great otherwise I will do so on Sunday. I will go ahead and start a new thread for next week.

Note to djpolldancer: You will be more than welcome to enter next week's contest. The rules are posted at the beginning of the thread in the OP.

[ModE98]

djpolldancer. reminder, the rules of the game are stricctly upheld; sorry,no late entries after the close off each week. You are most cordially invited to enter any pick of your choice in the next contest which will be for week ending March 28.  Clarkrl will post that Friday night and you will have the weekend to pick your choice and post it prior to following Monday's open. We certainly welcome you to the boards and this weekly "picker's" contest.  Look forward to your participation in future weeks!  Good to have you here!

Note:  Some of us refer to this as a weekly, friendly, "horse race" with the gates open most Monday's and running until Friday's close at the finish line.   

[ModE98]

Hey, architecto, what did you feed your horse?  He passed everyone like a bold of lightening....zzzaaappp!

[djAdvocate]

Mar 19, 2014 15:44:18 GMT -5 ModE98 said:

djpolldancer. reminder, the rules of the game are stricctly upheld; sorry,no late entries after the close off each week. You are most cordially invited to enter any pick of your choice in the next contest which will be for week ending March 28.  Clarkrl will post that Friday night and you will have the weekend to pick your choice and post it prior to following Monday's open. We certainly welcome you to the boards and this weekly "picker's" contest.  Look forward to your participation in future weeks!  Good to have you here!

grumble.  i am not normally a short term player.  but i am probably not going to beat SYN this week, anyway.

[ModE98]

SYN really had a great day...but, still two days to go. Yet, he looks like he may leave us all in the dust.  

Again, welcome, and good luck next week! Most of us are normally intermediate to long term holders, but the contest allows us to see what our short term "guesses" might turn out.  Once in a while I will try to see how one of my factual holding may do on a selected week, good, bad or neutral (especially with my high risk TPI holding (China-based)). 

[Value Buy]

Mar 19, 2014 15:59:43 GMT -5 djAdvocate said:

Mar 19, 2014 15:44:18 GMT -5 ModE98 said:

djpolldancer. reminder, the rules of the game are stricctly upheld; sorry,no late entries after the close off each week. You are most cordially invited to enter any pick of your choice in the next contest which will be for week ending March 28.  Clarkrl will post that Friday night and you will have the weekend to pick your choice and post it prior to following Monday's open. We certainly welcome you to the boards and this weekly "picker's" contest.  Look forward to your participation in future weeks!  Good to have you here!

grumble.  i am not normally a short term player.  but i am probably not going to beat SYN this week, anyway.

dj, this game is a little bit tricky.

We pick a stock or index that we think might pop or drop more than someone else's pick , just for the one week.

It gets tricky, because we start with the opening Monday price of the stock.

Sometimes we get literally taken out on news that comes out Monday morning that creates a distortion from Friday's closing price (stock opens way up or down) because Monday opening is your cost basis for the week.

If you get into this game on a weekly basis, you wind up researching stocks that you might not ordinarily be looking at (unless you are an active daytrader) and it can make you a better stock picker.

Plus, you pick up ideas of other stocks from our opponents with their opinions on their picks, opening up your personal knowledge of other stocks.

Good mind games.

I think you might also like other threads here. Look at the long term investor , or dividend threads and a few others for some good investment style ideas.

Better, yet, if you are into stock investments, start one on your own techniques and share your style on the board. You do not necessarily have to list your portfolio dollar amounts, etc, just your ideas and reasons involved for trades. 

[Value Buy]

Unofficial stock prices thru Thursday's close, without physical changes in rankings-No spreadsheet to calculate percentages

Player L or S Symbol $ Open $ Close % Close

 
architecto25 L SYN      $3.16     ..         $3.40 
Mod E L F                  $15.18     ..       $15.55 
BenchMark L QQQ      $89.24     ..       $90.29 
Value Buy L CAG        $29.54     ..       $29.99 
clarkrl2 L STRA          $46.35     ..       $46.60 
kadee66 L OPK            $9.77     ..         $9.67 
D. I. L KMI                $31.77     ..        $31.48
alliesmom L ETAK         $1.32    ..          $1.11 
uncle.23 L FCEL            $3.19    ..         $2.41 

Some players picked up today, a few fell on a positive trading day

[architecto25]

Value Buy,...not too important, with one more race day, but here's

what I got on the percentages:

SYN          +7.59%

F              +2.43%

CAG         +1.52%

QQQ        +1.17%

STRA       +0.54%

KMI         - 0.91%

OPK        - 1.02%

ETAK      - 15.90%

FCEL      - 24.45%

note: percentages are done by dividing the difference

between the 2 numbers by the first number  

[Value Buy]

Should have shorted WTSL this week.

Down 10% this morning

[djAdvocate]

Mar 20, 2014 10:47:15 GMT -5 Value Buy said:

Mar 19, 2014 15:59:43 GMT -5 djAdvocate said:

grumble.  i am not normally a short term player.  but i am probably not going to beat SYN this week, anyway.

dj, this game is a little bit tricky.

We pick a stock or index that we think might pop or drop more than someone else's pick , just for the one week.

It gets tricky, because we start with the opening Monday price of the stock.

Sometimes we get literally taken out on news that comes out Monday morning that creates a distortion from Friday's closing price (stock opens way up or down) because Monday opening is your cost basis for the week.

If you get into this game on a weekly basis, you wind up researching stocks that you might not ordinarily be looking at (unless you are an active daytrader) and it can make you a better stock picker.

Plus, you pick up ideas of other stocks from our opponents with their opinions on their picks, opening up your personal knowledge of other stocks.

Good mind games.

I think you might also like other threads here. Look at the long term investor , or dividend threads and a few others for some good investment style ideas.

Better, yet, if you are into stock investments, start one on your own techniques and share your style on the board. You do not necessarily have to list your portfolio dollar amounts, etc, just your ideas and reasons involved for trades. 

yeah, this is not really my thing (weekly picks).  it is too...tied into the weekly hooplah.  example: Luna Gold.  i was expecting it to show good earnings for the 4th quarter, but it reported a small loss.  the stock didn't go down, but it didn't go up either.  i am lousy at short term stuff.

i am more of a buy and hold guy.  my average hold time is 18 months.  so i will check out the long term board.  i might start a thread eventually, but i want to kind of get the feel of this place first.  i have a sort of unique strategy, so it might actually benefit some people to see it.  it has been really successful for me.

during a secular bull market, i just buy mutual funds.  but in a secular bear market, i do a lot more churning of individual issues.