3SOF

CRBC lost 5% on Friday due to Government shutdown jitters and MM . The stock will bounce big time next week because the Government shutdown was averted, because of positive weekend news, and because the financial results for the quarter just ended will be released this month. CRBC's CEO has stated categorically that the bank will return to profitability in 3Q 2011. Banks that have returned to sustainable profitability following the financial meltdown have become multi-baggers like FITB, HBAN, others. CRBC has taken a little longer but it is almost there now.

Plus....good news keep piling up...below are some of them:


- 4/9/11 Kiplinger publishes an article listing Flint, Michigan (CRBC Headquarters) the 7th "Come Back City of 2011" because of its economic recovery and major improvement in the employment front.

http://portal.kiplinger.com/slideshow/comeback_cities/7.html#top

- 3/2/2011CRBC's CEO files with the SEC that the bank will return to sustainable profitability. Excerpt of her filing:

..."As previously announced, we expect to return to quarterly profitability by the third quarter of 2011.

Since the beginning of this very challenging cycle in 2008, our team has worked tirelessly, with a focus on the key items that would allow the bank to successfully emerge from this long difficult cycle: our clients, our capital, our liquidity, and our credit. By returning to sustainable profitability, we will be on a clear path to resuming dividend payments on our trust preferred securities and TARP Preferred Stock, reversing the allowance on our deferred tax assets, and rebuilding value for our shareholders...."


- 2/28/2011 Oppenheimer confirmed its belief that CRBC will return to profitability in 3Q 2011. Upgraded CRBC to "Outperform" and assigned it a $1.4 price target

- 2/4/2011 FRB Upgraded CRBC to "Outperform" Raises Target from $75c to $1.3 . The following is an excerpt of the analyst's opinion that led to this upgrade

"While a thin tangible common equity ratio and troubling credit metrics have kept us sidelined, we now believe the company's aggressive problem loan workout strategy and sufficient regulatory capital ratios should drive positive net income at the bank in 3Q11, in line with management guidance...Accordingly, we are raising our 2010 and 2011 EPS estimates from ($0.28) and $0.07 to ($0.22) and $0.11, respectively."

- Book Value is 1.9/share

- Strong capital ratios and liquidity are expected to improve going forward

- Credit trends in the areas the bank operates its almost 300 banking centers are improving

- Institutions are buying millions of shares either adding or starting new positions.

- insiders have been buying persistently this year

- There has been a 90% decrease in short interest since August 2010

- Recently mentioned as an acquisition candidate because of heavy M&A activity in the region where the bank operates

CRBC used to be a $30/share bank 3 years ago. Sustained profitability could bring the stock price to $10+ within 3 years without having to go through a R/S process.


About CRBC:

Citizens Republic Bancorp, Inc. operates as the bank holding company for Citizens Bank and F&M Bank—Iowa, which provide banking and financial services to individuals and businesses in Michigan, Wisconsin, Ohio, Iowa, and Indiana. The company operates in four divisions: Regional Banking, Specialty Consumer, Specialty Commercial, and Wealth Management.

The company operates 218 offices and 252 ATMs. Citizens Republic Bancorp, Inc. was founded in 1871 and is based in Flint, Michigan.

SUTR $1.62...5 PE...Profitable Steel Company.  Steel Prices are expected to Soar 60% Due to Japan Reconstruction Efforts. SUTR will be a big winner going forward.

My 12-month target: $5+

WEEKEND ARTICLE: STEEL PRICES ARE EXPECTED TO JUMP 30 - 60% BY YEAR END DUE TO JAPAN'S RECONSTRUCTION.

SUTR is a growing and consistently profitable manufacturer of specialty steel products based in China. The future for SUTR look bright as it is expanding into Brazil, Russia, India, etc. But now with steel prices expected to sky rocket and stay high for at least three years due to the Japan's reconstruction efforts, SUTR future is brighter now than when it traded at $10+ 3 years ago.

Experts said over the weekend that steel prices are up 14% so far this year and that they expect prices to go up from 30% - 60% later on this year to keep up with demand from Japan, China, India, and the rest of the world. But the tsunami is really what is triggering the increased demand and higher steel prices.


Read this weekend's article on steel demand/supply/prices:

http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/marketnews/view/1121108/1/.html


KEY SUTR Highlights:

- Steel prices way up

- 5 PE

- 0.15 times sales

- Market cap: $66 Million

- Revenues: $500 Million

- Stockholders equity: $180 Million

- $1.2/share cash

- Won several technology awards

- Facilities were visited by NASDAQ's Asia VP and given the highest marks

STUR produces several types of specialty steels using their proprietary technologies. This is what differentiates SUTR from most of its competition making commodity/generic type steels.

During the last quarter, SUTR was honored as a High-Tech Enterprise by the Jiangsu Provincial Government. This certification places SUTR among a selected few value-added steel producers in China that have won both government and market recognition. Further, SUTR recently opened two new offices in metropolitan cities of Ningbo and Shanghai in an effort to increase brand recognition and better service the company's growing number of customers.


ABOUT SUTR:

Sutor Technology Group (NASDAQ: SUTR) is one of the leading China-based companies specializing in manufacturing and distribution of high-end value-added fine finished steel products used by a variety of downstream applications including solar water heaters, household appliances, construction, IT, automobiles, Oil and Gas equipment, infrastructure, medical equipment, and water resource industries.

The company's product offerings include finished steel products, hot-dip galvanized steel (HDG Steel), pre-painted galvanized steel (PPGI), acid-pickled steel (AP Steel), cold-rolled steel and welded steel pipe products.

In addition to selling its products in China, the company also exports its products to Europe, the Middle East, South America, the United States, Southeast Asia, and Hong Kong, and Russia.

The company has implemented a vertical integration strategy where using their own acid-pickled steel and cold-rolled steel products as raw materials for hot-dip galvanized steel and pre-painted galvanized steel products. The company believes that vertically integrated operations allow it to provide customers with one-stop services, build customer loyalty, and maintain stable operating margins. That's why SUTR was able to consistently deliver profits over the years, even during the recent financial crises when most steel companies suffered losses.

Established in 2002, the company has enjoyed rapid growth in the last several years. Today Sutor has three operating subsidiaries located in two provinces with 12 major production lines capable of processing approximately 2 million metric tons of steel products annually. The company is based in Changshu City, China.


WEBSITE: http://www.sutorcn.com/en/index.php



REMEMBER: Strong 3Q 2011 earnings will be reported in 3 weeks. Guidance will be very bullish because of increased demand for products and a much higher price/ton of steel

Target was raised to $6 recently (see bottom of post). Take a look at the chart.....charts don't lie

http://stockcharts.com/h-sc/ui?s=NTWK&p=D&yr=0&mn=6&dy=0&id=p36258004094&a=222147265&listNum=1

Read about the many multi-million dollar contract signed in recent months. These licenses bring with them 5-year service and maintenance contracts thus increasing recurring revenues.

http://www.globenewswire.com/newsroom/headlines.html?symbol=NTWK

~NTWK could fly past $3+ after blockbuster earnings on February 10, 2011.

12-month target: $5+


Latest Developments:

- Insider Buy 1.4 Million Shares in 2010
- Several institutions/funds increased their positions or started new ones.
- Recently signed global alliances with Mercedes Benz and China's SANY Corp. as exclusive auto/equipment leasing and financing software provider. Currently working on software licenses and applications in nine countries where Mercedes Financial does business including India, China, Japan, Korea, Thailand, and others.
- Launched Atheeb Netsol Joint Venture with Royal Saudi Family
- Will participate in SAP's EcoHub to introduce hundreds of potential customers its SAP-certified smartOCI search engine

NTWK Highlights:

- Global US-based global software company trading at 9 PE and at a significant discount vs. sector peers
- 15 - 20c/share net income
- $40 - $44 million revenues
- $75 Million market cap
- Gross margins 65%+
- 5-year average growth of 20%+/yer per guidance
- The CEO bought 279,000 shares on 12/10. Insiders bought 1.4 Million shares or 4% of all outstanding shares in the open market in 2010
- Blackrock bought over a million shares as well as other institutions
- Explosive China growth
- Controls 90% of the Chinese auto leasing/financing software market
- 0ver 20 Fortune 100 customers including Ford, BMW, GM, Mercedes Benz, Toyota, Nissan, Chase, Citi
- Global alliance with Mercedes Benz....exclusive leasing/financing software provider
- New SAP-approved procurement search engine built on "cloud computing" architecture will be a significant revenue engine
- Front runner in Billion-dollar in IT/software infrastructure and military mega-projects in Pakistan
- New JV in Saudi Arabia with Atheeb Group ran by the Royal Family
- Large contracts to be announced from now to 2Q earnings
- Great daily and weekly chart
- Buyout candidate- CEO said at least $8/share
- The Street Com Video last week says NTWK is best under-5$ stock
- Headquartered in Calabasas, CA with offices in Beijing, Australia, Thailand, the UK, Singapore, Dubai, Saudi Arabia, Australia, and several offices in Pakistan

+++> Target Raised to $6

On 1/21/2011 Ativo Research raised its forecast for NTWK's price per share:

Forecasted upper limit: $6.00
Best Estimate: $3.00
Forecasted lower limit: $1.50

Ativo Research's Investment Conclusion:

Ativo Research projects as of this date that NTWK will GREATLY OUTPERFORM the market averages over the next 6 to 12 months leading to our decision of a STRONG BUY. Our decision is based on (1) valuation, which compares the firm's intrinsic value against the price of its stock, (2) intermediate and long-term price momentum, (3) other measures of fundamental trend and (4) qualitative analysis.

Ativo Research is a conservative award-winning stock research company that does research for Fidelity Investments and other large institutions and wealthy individuals. Google for Ativo Research for more info.

A new 52-week high was established today. This great chart will show frequent new 52-week highs:

http://stockcharts.com/freecharts/gallery.html?s=ntwk

Here are a few reasons for the recent strong move despite bad markets:

- Technicals have improved significantly but it is still lagging strong fundamentals

- Explosive profitable growth (see related points below)

- The company will report record 2Q 2011 financial results and provide a strong guidance on earnings day (February 7, 2011).....based on guidance and recent developments (significant contract wins, etc).

- NTWK is a US-based software company with 8 major offices worldwide including the USA, UK, China, Thailand, Singapore, Australia, Saudi Arabia, and its largest software development hub in Pakistan ( low salaries/excellent workforce/high margins approaching 70%)

- NTWK's CEO recently re-iterated the 20c/share net income guidance on 20%+ revenue growth. He projects 20%/year+ growth for the next 5 years

- Insiders bought 1.4m shares in 2010, including 279k on 12/10 at $1.50 per share

- In response to persistent acquisition rumors, the CEO acknowledged in the 4Q 2010 CC that there are several suitors but that He and the Board would only get serious if the offers are North of $8/share

- NTWK currently has 90% of the China auto leasing/financing software market with customers like Mercedes Benz, BYD, Ford, Nissan, GMC, SANY Corp., Hyundai, BMW, etc.

- NTWK has hired 40 people in Beijing (and it's moving into a larger facility) to 1) support existing customers, and 2) to move/expand into other verticals like banking/lending, healthcare, energy, military, government

- Recent Global deals with Mercedes Benz and China's SANY Corp. are game changers for NTWK

- Professional certification in all major categories - CMMI Level 5, ISO 9001, 20000, 27001

- NTWK is hiring in Thailand for an significantly expanded operation

- In the last 3 months NTWK has hired over 100 software engineers/programmers, business development/marketing, and support personnel.

- NTPK (NTWK's largest subsidiary) stock in Pakistan is up 35% in 2 weeks

- NTWK has invested 15 employees in the Atheeb Netsol joint venture with Saudi Arabia's Atheeb Group. The CEO for 51% NTWK-owned JV is the the Royal Prince of Saudi Arabia

- There are already several SAP clients using cloud-computing-driven SAP-certified SmartOCI search engine.

- Conservative award-winning stock research company Ativo Research (Fidelity Investments preferred stock research company). Ativo rates NTWK a STRONG BUY with a max target of $5.16 and low target of $1.86. Note that at $2.07 is very close to the low target but with a lot of room to move up from this point forward. Ativo further states that NTWK will GREATLY OUTPERFORM markets in the next 6 to 12 months.

On 1/14/11 Ativo Research reiterated their 10/8/10 "Strong Buy" rating on NTWK.

"Ativo Research projects as of this date that NTWK will GREATLY OUTPERFORM the market averages over the next 6 to 12 months leading to our decision of a STRONG BUY."

Ativo Research is a well-respected, conservative stock research company.

Ativo Research was recently named the #1 research provider by Fidelity investments:

http://www.ativoresearch.com/ativoresearch/Press%20Releases/FMR%20-%20ResearchAwards2Q09.pdf

More information on Ativo Research:

http://www.ativoresearch.com/ativoresearch/index.html

NTWK $1.86. Insiders Bought 1.4 Million Shares in 2010...Increased Institutional Interest....Exponential growth in China/Asia......Buyout Candidate.

Chart shows systematic accumulation at higher and higher levels. Once the stock breaks $2.15 it will never look back.

http://stockcharts.com/freecharts/gallery.html?s=ntwk

Target: $4+ after blockbuster earnings on February 7, 2011

This November 2010 contract announcement implies that 2Q 2011 to be announced February 7, 2011 will be stronger than previously projected (6c/share):

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/NetSol-Technologies-Signs-pz-2058899050.html?x=0&.v=1

Latest Developments:

- Insider Buy 1.4 Million Shares in 2010
- Several other institutions/funds increased their positions or started new ones. Blackrock Bought 4% of Co. in 2010
- Launched Atheeb Netsol JV with Royal Saudi Family
- New global alliances with Mercedes Benz Financial and China's SANY Corp.
- Will participate in SAP's EcoHub to introduce hundreds of potential customers its SAP-certified smartOCI search engine

NTWK Highlights:

- Global US-based global software company
- 15 - 20c/share net income
- $40 - $44 million revenues
- $75 Million market cap
- Gross margins 65%+
- 5-year average growth of 20%+/yer per guidance
- The CEO bought 279,000 shares on 12/10. Insiders bought 1.4 Million shares or 4% of all outstanding shares in the open market in 2010
- Blackrock bought over a million shares as well as other institutions
- Explosive China growth
- Controls 90% of the Chinese auto leasing/financing software market
- 0ver 20 Fortune 100 customers including Ford, BMW, GM, Mercedes Benz, Toyota, Nissan, Chase, Citi
- Global alliance with Mercedes Benz....exclusive leasing/financing software provider
- New SAP-approved procurement search engine built on "cloud computing" architecture will be a significant revenue engine
- Front runner in Billion-dollar in IT/software infrastructure and military mega-projects in Pakistan
- New JV in Saudi Arabia with Atheeb Group ran by the Royal Family
- Large contracts to be announced from now to 2Q earnings
- Great daily and weekly chart
- The Street Com Video last week says NTWK is best under-5$ stock
- US-based software company with offices in CA, Beijing/China, Australia, Thailand, the UK, Singapore, Dubai, Saudi Arabia, and Pakistan
- Buyout candidate

Further DD Links:

Buyout candidate. The CEO acknowledged during the 4Q 2010 Conference Call that there is significant interest in the acquisition arena. However he was very emphatic when he said that he would only listen to offers in the $8 - $10 range.

The company has met with SAP's CEO recently at SAP's Philadelphia headquarters. Some says that it is to discuss buyout terms. Here are some pictures of that event:

http://www.netsoltech.com/resources/netsol-sap-hq.php

Thestreet Com video recommending to buy NTWK:

http://www.thestreet.com/_yahoo/vide...1#722227923001

Significant insider buying.

So far this year insiders have purchased 1.4 million shares or 4%of all outstanding shares (enter NTWK in the window):

http://www.insidercow.com/


About NTWK:

Netsol Technologies, Inc. designs, develops, and markets software products for the automobile finance and leasing, banking, healthcare, and financial services industries worldwide.

It offers NetSol Financial Suite, which is an end-to-end solution that covers the leasing and finance cycle. The NetSol Financial Suite consist of software applications comprising Point of Sale, a front office processing system for the finance sector; Credit Application Processing System to handle the incoming credit applications from dealers, agents, brokers, and the direct sales force; Contract Management System to manage and maintain a contract; Wholesale Finance System to automate and manage the floor plan/bailment activities of dealerships; and Fleet Management System to handle fleet management needs.

The NetSol Financial Suite also includes LeasePak that develops Web-enabled and Web-based tools for the leasing technology industry. In addition, the company offers LeaseSoft Portals and Modules; enterprise wide information systems, such as LRMIS, MTMIS, and Hospital Management Systems; accounting outsourcing services; and career and technology programs.

Further, it provides portfolio management systems for the financial services industry; and consulting, custom development, systems integration, and technical services for the healthcare, insurance, real estate, and technology markets. Additionally, the company offers business intelligence, independent system review, information security, and software process improvement consulting services; maintenance and support, and project management services; and solutions for the defense and military forces. It serves Fortune 500 manufacturers, automakers, financial institutions, utilities, technology providers, and government agencies.

The company was formerly known as NetSol International, Inc. and changed its name to NetSol Technologies, Inc. in March 2002. NetSol Technologies, Inc. was founded in 1997 and is based in Calabasas, California.

Netsol has offices in 7 countries and it is expanding in the Middle East this year:

http://www.netsoltech.com/contact/office-location.php

Trading at 0.3 X sales Growing at 40%+. Products in several hot sectors (Storage/Virtualization/Cloud Computing/Network Security/Telecom/Wireless

My expectation: 3+ after strong 1Q 2011 earnings/guidance in two weeks.

NEI's Chart is looking better and better:

http://stockcharts.com/freecharts/gallery.html?s=NEI


Highlights and 1Q earnings expectations:

- 0.3 times sales of $240 Million/year. This is 300 - 5000% lower valuation than other
sector players

- Revenues of $62+ million vs. $48 million.

- Net income 300 - 500% higher than $140K posted in 1Q 2011.

- 40c/share cash and ZERO debt.

- Revenues and earnings are expected to ramp up significantly starting this quarter (See EMC comments below): Guidance strong and bullish


The latest, and probably the most significant development for NEI, is the upcoming EMC's new product release during this quarter ending March 30. This could potentially be a game changer for NEI.

In a recent CC, NEI's CEO stated that a new program with EMC will enter the revenue stage this quarter:

http://www.wsw.com/webcast/mcm13/register.aspx?conf=mcm13&page=nei&url=http%3A//www.wsw.com/webcast/mcm13/nei/

For this reason, I expect a step change in revenues and net income going forward. Guidance will therefore be strong and bullish.

Note that in the presentation the the CEO is bullish about all product lines: Storage, Network Security, Telecom data/video (iPhone/iPad/droids/etc), Cloud computing, Other opportunities.

Also notice that while gross margin has decreased from 16 to 11% since last year, revenues have jumped 40%+. More importantly, operating costs have decreased because NEI is leveraging its large capacity to mass produce. The bottom line is that operating costs have decreased an amazing 17% to 10% during that time. The company expects stable margins and any new revenues will trickle straight down to the bottom line.

The article below includes a section entitled " Get Ready for The Storage Rocket Ride." The author recommends EMC as one on 5 top 2011 stocks. But since NEI is a main EMC supplier, what is good for EMC is good for NEI.

http://www.fool.com/investing/high-growth/2010/12/14/our-top-5-tech-stocks-for-2011-emc.aspx

Players in the hot "cloud computing" such as NEI are expected to grow significantly in the future (see Bryan Marshall's comments below). There is also significant consolidation in the sector making NEI an ideal buyout candidate.


Below are some recent developments highlighting the fact that NEI is in the right place at the right time.

========>>>

During the latest CC, NEI's CEO stated that revenues will jump significantly starting in 2Q 2011 (or the current quarter) ending March 30, 2011. The guidance forward will likely be very strong if NEI is participating in EMC's new grand product release.

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2011/01/04/emc_vnx_unified_storage/

======>>>>

Last Friday, Gleacher analyst Brian Marshall issued a short research note this morning summarizing a few trends he thinks will be important in IT in 2011 and beyond.

1) Cloud computing, he says, currently consumes only two percent of the global enterprise storage budget today, and he expects that to grow to between 15 and 20 percent within five years.

2) He says solid-state storage–which uses flash memory to enhance storage in servers by breaking up the bottlenecks that exist between processors that do the number crunching and hard drives that store the data–is "at a nascent stage," and that solid-state use in enterprise applications will only get more important in 2011.

3) Finally, expect more virtualization in the data center. Currently, corporations virtualize about 30 percent of their servers and storage machines. Marshall thinks over five years, that will grow to about 70 percent, and if the conditions are right, 2011 could be a year where the growth rate could accelerate significantly

======>>>

Not surprisingly, NEI is starting to gain visibility:

Capstone Investments Starts Network Engines (NEI) at Buy; A Prime Storage/Security Integrator

12/23/2010 8:58 AM ET

Capstone Investments initiates coverage on Network Engines (NASDAQ: NEI) with a "Buy."

Capstone analyst says, "NEI benefits from software companies who do not wish to deal with the hardware aspects of selling software as an appliance. Shares are currently attractive as the June quarter miss (due to difficulties in forecasting as the company was ramping up several rapidly growing businesses) resulted in a lower share price that does not adequately reflect the company's long-term fundamentals, in our opinion. NEI is a beneficiary of strong trends in storage (currently 55% of revenue) and security (30% of revenue), and is also a play on deduplication (as it provides EMC with Avamar deduplication software on DELL servers)."


About Network Engines:

Network Engines, Inc. (NASDAQ: NEI/formerly NENG) provides application platforms, appliances, and deployment services for software developers, original equipment manufacturers, and service providers worldwide.

The company designs and manufactures server-based platform and appliance solutions, on which software applications are applied to enterprise and telephony information technology networks.

The company sells its application platform solutions to customers operating in the data storage, network security, carrier communications, and enterprise communications markets. The company also offers support services related to solution design, integration control, global logistics, and support and maintenance programs.