Notable Bongs

S

stonedinvestor

This is the first entry in my new ET series!
It is a blog-like attempt at a morning roundup of ideas that may be " bongable " that day. When I am hiding from life and staying home I will update as much as possible. ~ stoney

THE STORY:
>>> The history of ZRAN recently has been unglorious Last Summer gap up on 4/24 saw a $22 close become a $26 open, the stk fails badly drifts down $22 becomes support, stk rallies to $26... then BIG selloff breaks support to $22 and then GAPS down the royal flush to $14. triple bottom here many retests up cycle to $18 where the stock BREAKS OUT to upside. Jeffries NEW price target is $24- the analyst making his first adjustment since a $14 PT....

THE OPINION: This may be a bongable call.

THE STORY:
>>> People are losing their minds. literally. thoughtlessness is a severe disease when you don't do it on purpose and many biotechs are tackling the problem of Alzheimers. One such company is TARGACEPT TRGT 5XVOL yesterday... stk went from $8.80 to $9.40 before giving most of it back. What's up? Well we know the company has 4 clinical and 3 pre clinical products in it's pipeline and that they specialize in central nervous system diseases. A mid stage study on TC-1734 for Alzheimers due out sometime soon... could that be it? Rumor, innuendo...$54 mil in cash not bad for a market cap of $170M. $1.4 mil debt though.

THE OPINION: This may be a bongable call.
 
Good Open on TRGT.

Targacept.


Targacept (NASD:TRGT) is an R&D pharmaceutical company formed as a spinout from RJ Reynolds Tobacco Company (NYSE: RJR) in August 2000. Targacept is involved with the development and commercialization of drugs based on selective activation of a previously unexploited class of targets - neuronal nicotinic acetylcholine receptors (NNRs). These drugs offer a new way to treat various major CNS and gastrointestinal diseases and disorders including Alzheimer's Disease, depression and ulcerative colitis. Easton participated in the financing round preceding Targacept's successful initial public offering in April 2006. Other investors in Targacept include NEA, Nomura International, Oxford Bioscience Partners, and several other venture capital firms.
 
Nice day for ZRAN could of been twenty cents better.\.

More color>
Analyst Sees Zoran Closing Options Probe
Tuesday April 17, 2:11 pm ET
Zoran Shares Rise After Analyst Predicts Resolution to Options Probe

NEW YORK (AP) -- Shares of Zoran Corp., a maker of chips used in DVD players and home theater systems, jumped in Tuesday's trading after an analyst suggested the company may be nearing the end of its stock options probe and predicted the company's first-quarter results may come in at the high-end of its forecast.

Zoran is one of at least 211 companies that have launched internal probes or are under federal scrutiny for possibly backdating stock option grants.

Jefferies & Co. analyst Adam Benjamin lifted his rating on the stock to "Buy" from "Hold" and lifted his price target to $24 from $14.

"We believe Zoran is close to resolving its stock option investigation, potentially filing its restatement before the end of the month," Benjamin wrote in a note to investors. "With Zoran's typically weak December and March quarters behind us, we believe now is the time to build positions in Zoran ahead of its March earnings call and likely higher June guidance. We believe Zoran will report at the high end of its March quarter guidance of $95 million to $100 million, above consensus (estimate) of $98 million and inline with our estimate of $100 million (raised from $97 million), largely driven by a rebound in its DVD business and return to growth in its DTV segment."

Analysts expect the company to post, on average, first-quarter earnings of 8 cents per share on $98 million in revenue, according to a Thomson Financial survey.

Shares of Zoran, which have traded between $13.45 and $29.85 over the last 52 weeks, were up 59 cents, or 3.2 percent, at $19.15
 
-NOTABLE BONGS-
* * * THURSDAY APRIL 19th * * *

Good AM bulls today there is not much on the docket, I was wandering about Turtle Farm investing in China this morning and how SEC letters can take down a small stock and this leads to Eternal Tech-

>THE STORY:
Eternal Technologies (ETLT.OB) posts solid annual report, still a value When Eternal Technologies announced it would delay its 10-K to address a comment letter from the SEC, investors assumed the worst. They sent the stock plummeting, even though days earlier the company had posted record revenues and earnings for 2006. Keep in mind this was not an SEC investigation, or even an informal inquiry...just a plain comment about disclosures in a past 10-K.

After the bell last Thursday, Eternal Technologies filed its 10-K for 2006, and there were no major surprises. GAAP earnings rose 20.5% to $4.88M versus $4.05M in 2005. ETLT posted revenues of $28.7M, up from $23.0M in 2005. There was some dropoff in the company's main livestock and embryo transfer business, but investors knew that from prior reports. A huge ramp in revenues in E-Sea, the high margin medical equipment division, more than made up for this shortfall, rising from $1.2M to over $8.7M. Note that the Hong Yuan turtle farming business is not included in these figures; that acquisition closed just after the first of the year.

The balance sheet remains rock-solid. At the end of 2006, ETLT had $16.0M in cash and another $18.4M in short-term investments. Deduct $1.9M to account for the cash component of the turtle farm purchase, leaving $32.5M in cash and short-term investments. The company has $443k in convertible notes outstanding, but no major debt. The 10-K reiterated a previous disclosure about a lawsuit that may come to trial in 2007. ETLT says it has a meritorious defense and counterclaims, but if it loses the company's exposure is probably under $1M.

Bottom line: The company is a screaming value by almost any measure. It could earn over $5M in 2007. Most importantly, management has twice proved it will wisely invest its cash hoard--first with the E-Sea buy, then with the turtle farming business.

The Opinion: This may be a bongable call!

The STORY: Increased Electronic Oil Derivatives Trading Bodes Well for Optionable
OPBL.OB

Optionable has witnessed remarkable growth due to the increased trades processed through its OPEX trading platform.

OPBL looks very cheap at these prices ($6.55).

The Opinion: This may be a bongable call!

The STORY: VNUS MED LOOKS A-OK


Discover Value in Veins: Initiating with a Buy
We are initiating coverage on the shares of VNUS with a Buy rating and 12-
month target price of $15. - Roth.

* ClosureFAST launch has been gradual, but is now ready to rollout. Since garnering FDA 510(k) approval for ClosureFAST, the company's next generation ablation device that boasts faster speed and stronger ease-of- use characteristics, in August 2006, management has elected to take a
measured approach to launching the technology, which we believe reflects its commitment to a consistent marketing message based on clinical
results!

* Clinical feedback and market dynamics support endovenous treatment. At this year's SIR meeting in Seattle, we came away content that the varicose
vein treatment market remains popular in general, given increasing patient-driven demand and the attractive reimbursement landscape offered to physicians performing the procedure. Although the company's share of procedure volume and overall revenue has recently been declining, we expect a few key changes in the marketplace will allow VNUS to at least maintain pace with the market, if not exceed those levels.

VNUS could introduce
additional products that leverage its 61-rep sales channel either through its own R&D development or through business development activities, namely by targeting technology for the treatment of peripheral vascular disease.

* Not to mention the legal environment ... VNUS is now suing its public laser competitors for patent infringement. If successful, VNUS would hold a more dominant position in the growing endovenous varicose vein treatment market.

* Valuation minimizes downside, particularly with a strong financial position. roughly $4.40 in cash per share and no debt, shares of VNUS are currently trading with an EV to sales multiple of 1.8 times our FY07 sales projection, well below the average small-cap medical device valuation of 3.4x forward sales despite similar fundamental characteristics.

The Opinion: This may be a bongable call!
~stoney
 
Ok not loving ZRAN got a downgrade TRGT is off to the races up 4% today but on very low volume let's keep dialing.

MID AFTERNOON UPDATE TUES* Notable Bongs*

GCOM:
The Story: has bought the sat division of Lyman Brothers stock goes up not down. This is a good sign and a good company.

This may be a bongable call!

ANAD
The Story: They report tonight.

This may be a bongable call!

ARWR:
The Story: teaming up with a Japanese co to do touch panel display for video game makers.

This may be a bongable call!

JDAS:
The Story: Break out chart, earn quadrupled, rev up 89%.

This may be a bongable call.
 
Alright JDAS had guided higher already so may be baked in. No. ANAD just too scary I jumped out and sold. No. GCOM still under SI review.

That leaves OUR FIRST NOTABLE BONG HIT!

BUY ARWR Folks!

*(ARWR) Arrowhead Research- Global Crown initiates ARWR with an Overweight and a $9 target. In their view, several ARWR's subsidiaries are going to exit the adolescence stage by the end of 2007, raising the potential for significant licensing revenue stream, IPO or sale of the subsidiaries in the next 12 months. They expect near-term catalysts for the stock from the licensing and partnership deals in electronics and from the expected conclusion of the phase 1 clinical studies of Insert's lead anti-cancer drug candidate in mid-2007.

~ One warning* stoney is flying sober today!
small spat with wife combined with misplaced supplies = wait until 3:10 for resupply sort of day. If everything looks different to me after 3:10 I will come back and explain.
 
Shoulda hung in there with GCOM, stoned.

I've been in this thing for a month now and it looks like patience once again pays off.
 
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