Snowcat's Hot Stock Update!

[snowcat]

05/26/26
The further backward you look the further forward you can see. – Churchill

I have been crowing about the future for the past month and it is IFO, MED, COGO AND HSR.
COGO blasted through 15 on strong volume and should get a prominent place on the IBD 100 – giving it added exposure and pushing the price up further.  Up about 11% today.
http://finance.yahoo.com/q?s=cogo

I also see that GV, the sub $2 electrical contracting firm with great earnings seems to have hit its support level and is bouncing back.  This is probably a good point to dip your toes into this one, though I would prefer a day with better volume.

Speaking of better volume, one really good company, SIMC had a pullback and then surged ahead on better than normal volume.  Up 13% on 2x adv.
http://finance.yahoo.com/q?s=simc

I added this today when Rick brought it to my attention!

http://stockcharts.com/h-sc/ui?s=SIMC&p=D&yr=0&mn=6&dy=0&id=p88710410366

GIGM is looking buyable again.  They had great earnings and are making smart business moves – acquiring the companies they need to succeed and selling what they no longer need!  Online gambling and beyond!
http://finance.yahoo.com/q/bc?s=GIGM&t=6m

I am staying focused on just a few key stocks.  Keep the winners.

Have a great Memorial Day and say a special thanks to the men and women in the armed services defending our country.  It is a tough job for low pay and takes more guts than Bill Gates or Warren Buffet will ever have.  Thank you.  SNOWCAT

[snowcat]

05/30/06
Education's purpose is to replace an empty mind with an open one. – Malcome Forbes



IIC Top 10 Under $10 – some good looking stuff from InvestorInformationCenter

GIGM,ARTG,DTLK,SWW,STKL,EGY,SWB,NETC,CBJ,CYB

Little Charts:

http://trimurl.com/5C8

IIC's Killer Watch List:

COGO,GLBL,MTRX,LYV,TOO,SWB,SMSI

Little Charts:

http://trimurl.com/5CO

LQDT was all over IBD weekend issue. They were pumping it in every section of the paper. The chart is amazing, but a new issue. – Up 6%

http://stockcharts.com/h-sc/ui?s=lqdt&p=D&yr=0&mn=6&dy=0&id=p17591365827

Gun maker, SWB had a nice Bo today, up 6%.
http://stockcharts.com/h-sc/ui?s=swb&p=D&yr=0&mn=6&dy=0&id=p17591365827

HOM falling on insider selling. Very volatile stock!

COGO drops after making it to the IBD 100 - typical reaction.  Stand pat!

HSR down 9% on low vol and IFO down 6% on high vol.

GV is holding its own as it rests at support and SIMC continues its run, up 9%!
http://finance.yahoo.com/q?s=simc

But the market was down and these stocks have been up a lot recently bucking the trend – so a pull back is not unexpected.  I have high expectations, but I have an itchy sell finger and I am not in love with any of these stocks!

Keep you wallets in you pocket and wait for the market to turn.  Three of four stocks follow the market.  The others follow the American Idol Tour across America.

Hang in there, I got your back. - Snowy

[snowcat]

05/31/06
There is more to life than increasing its speed. – Gandhi

The key elements of the portfolio are gaining real speed:

SIMC is now #3 on IBD stocks under $10, 99 RATING (http://www.investors.com/tr10/trsuform1.aspx)
HOWEVER, THAT RATING IS BASED ON LAST Quarter earnings of .11 they are missing this:
On Monday May 15th, the co reported Q106 revs of
$21.9 mln, up
78% yr/yr, and EPS, of $0.11 vs $ 0.05 last year.
However, if the Litton acquisition had been in for the
whole quarter, Q1 revs would have been $31.5 mln
(154.9% increase) and eps of $0.22 (340% increase),
according to Note 13 of the recently filed 10-Q
(5/15/2006).  It is up 12% today.

IFO split. Hmmmmm.
08:30 IFO InfoSonics announces 2 for 1 split (23.47 )

http://biz.yahoo.com/bw/060531/20060531005360.html?.v=1
You must be an owner of record June 9. I expect it to hit at least 30 b4 the split so it remains on the IBD 100.  It sounds silly, but stocks are silly.  It was up 12% or almost $3 today.  I am up 100% on this one.

PTSC was up 16% today – so I am down 32% instead of 50% on this penny stock.  There is a lot of potential here so I am going to hold on, but like most penny stocks, it is volatile.
http://finance.yahoo.com/q?s=PTSC.OB

Two oil sands stocks had good days today, UTS.to and SOIGF.  I got a flyer in the mail on SOIGF, the usual hype, but it is up.  UTS was a Mike Schaeffer pick that has turned out awesome!
http://finance.yahoo.com/q?s=soigf.ob
http://finance.yahoo.com/q?s=uts.to

Others on the watch list today were old favorites, MEK and PRFT....looking pretty good!  http://finance.yahoo.com/q/cq?d=v1&s=prft+mek

Today was good, lets keep the rally going!  Snowcat.


I read this in Toby Smith's column.  It really touched me:

When I am in line at Starbucks, an airport restaurant or a bar,
and I see a service man or woman in the room, I make sure to pay
for his or her coffee or beer.
It's not a big thing, but let me tell you about how important it
is to our brave, selfless men and women to simply hear a "thank
you" from you and me -- you know, the people whose freedom they
defend.
While in Las Vegas two weeks ago for the Money Show, I was in the
bar at the MGM after a business dinner and I saw a group of men
and women obviously in the service -- the uniforms and haircuts
sure give you a clue.
Unbeknownst to them, I picked up their tab and had the bartender
send over a round of drinks with the message, "From a grateful
nation, we say thanks for your patriotism."
The guys asked who sent the drinks and they came over to chat.
Majors Tim M., Carla L. and Mick O. came over, shook my hand and
had a few tears in their strong, deep-set eyes.
They were there for a wedding of a comrade and then on to a
funeral to bury another -- a cycle of life they have grown much
too accustomed to.
They told me that I would never know how much it means to them to
hear a "thank you" from the citizens they fight for -- and that it
was especially important to hear it that day, given the
circumstances of their trip.
I could not have been more impressed with these young men and
women, and it made me so grateful that my simple gesture had meant
so much to them.
Earlier in the day I had bought a coffee for an Army colonel in
line at the Starbucks at Dulles Airport, and I had a very similar
response -- so it was a great day for me, thanks to a little bit
of thoughtfulness.

[snowcat]

06/01/06
After climbing a great hill, one only finds that there are many more hills to climb. – Nelson Mandela

One big hill we reached the top of is IFO, hitting 30 today.  We are up over 100% on this one and should be looking for a time to take profits.  Let us preserve some assets!
http://finance.yahoo.com/q?s=IFO

Ethanol stocks were up and it looks like the market may be recovering.  In fact, if I held steady and did not sell last week, most of the quality stocks have bounced back – ADM, MGPI, and LDSH etc.  That is why it pays to buy quality and to preserve assets when the market falls.

INFA is getting close to 15 on a nice gain today, but I did not like the so/so volume.
http://finance.yahoo.com/q/bc?s=INFA

I did like the performance of Copper miner, CUP.  It fell bad and bounced back to a hod on big volume.  I bought shares.  This is a positive sign that is typical of strong stocks. It opened at 4.16, fell to 3.82 and finished at about $4.61.
http://stockcharts.com/h-sc/ui?s=CUP&p=D&yr=0&mn=6&dy=0&id=p72207499998

CHRS was up on good vol due to a nice report from Dress Barn and The Limited.  If it follows up on good vol, it may be one to watch.
http://finance.yahoo.com/q?s=CHRS

I hate to admit it, but I bought that pumper of an oil sands stock, SOIGF.ob yesterday.  It was up 13% today.  I will keep it until it challenges my 10% profit.

I am a big fan of HOM and GV is one of my larger holdings.  Hurricane season is why:

Hurricane Plays: HOM, GV, GLBL, IPII, ABIX, WEL

[BRIEFING.COM -- Robert J. Reid] With hurricane season officially beginning today and with what is expected to be another harsh hurricane season, we wanted to highlight six small cap companies that would benefit from repairs/rebuilding: HOM, GV, GLBL, IPII, ABIX, WEL.

Home Solutions (HOM 10.66 +0.46)
HOM is probably the best known hurricane play as it's a provider of recovery, restoration and rebuilding to areas that are prone to flooding, hurricanes, tornados, fires etc.
Its operations are strategically located in areas prone to natural disasters including California, Texas, Florida, Louisiana and Mississippi.
The co is profitable and expects to report revenue of $160-165 mln this year, up 138% yr/yr.
The stock has a fairly large float f 29.2 mln shares, but was the biggest mover of all as it rocketed from $1.80 in mid-July to $6.50 by mid-Nov.




Goldfield (GV 1.83 +0.24)
Goldfield installs and maintains electrical transmission lines for electric utilities in the southeastern US.
The financials look pretty good as the co is profitable and Q1 revenue rose 70% yoy to $8.2 mln.
The float is a bit big at 23.1 mln, but it's liquid at 551K avg volume.
The stock doubled from $0.75 to $1.50 when Katrina hit in late August.

Global Industries (GLBL 19.41 unch)
The co provides pipeline construction, platform installation/removal, and diving services to the oil & gas industry.
GLBL is based in Louisiana, where Hurricane Katrina hit.
Results continue to be impressive as Q1 revenue rose 79% yr/yr to $246.3 mln.
The stock is at a new 52-wk high, but still trades at a very reasonable forward p/e of 15.2x, only half its expected EPS growth rate next year of 33%.
The stock was a big mover last yr as it jumped from $9 to $15 in 3 months...

Imperial Industries (IPII 23.18 +0.35)
The co makes building materials such as stucco, plaster and roofing products, as well as gypsum wallboard, roofing and insulation products.
The co has said that the repairs of damaged property last year had a "major" favorable effect on demand.
It's worth noting that the co is based in Pompano Beach, FL and just about all sales are to southeastern states.
The co is profitable and posted revenue growth last year of 31% to $72.3 mln. Also, EPS over the past 3 years has grown from $0.28 in 2003 to $1.02 in 2004 and $1.34 in 2005.
Applying Q1's EPS growth rate (27%) for the full year, this computes to an EPS of $1.71 for a very reasonable p/e of 13.5x.
Recall that last year, the stock jumped nearly 100% (twice!): from early July to early Aug ($16 to $30) and after a pullback, jumped again from $16 to $29 when Katrina came by in late August.
Considering the stock's tiny 2.2 mln share float, we'd keep an eye on this one.

Abatix (ABIX 9.00 -0.20)
The co makes protective clothing and industrial cleanup supplies with distribution centers in Dallas and Houston, where Hurricane Rita hit last year.
The stock has a tiny float of 870K.
Stock was a big mover last summer when it doubled in one day in early Aug from $7 to $14.

Boots & Coots (WEL 1.69 +0.01)
The co provides oilfield services centered on the prevention, emergency response and restoration of blowouts and well fires.
In its Q4 report, the co said "The aftermath of the hurricanes in the Gulf is keeping our teams busy."
Of note, the co's prevention service segment was up 72% in 2005 at $13.9 mln and now represents 47% of sales up from 33% in 2004 and the co is profitable.
Its float has expanded to 29.4 mln, but it was a mover last summer, jumping from $0.80 to $1.60 in 6 weeks.

A lot to swallow, but it goes down smooth with a beer. Snowcatz

[snowcat]

06/02/06
Apply yourself. Get all the education you can, but then, by God, do something.  Don't just stand there' make it happen. – Lee Iacocca

Education, I say it again.  Learn from others and learn from your mistakes.  Here is a list of some great trading DVD's for under $10 and a slew of top quality trading books for ½ price.   http://www.invest-store.com/profittrading/tl050106.html

I am always looking for good traders to steal ideas from.

HOM turned up on the s-list of stocklemon.  It may have some validity to it, but anyway, I sold out even.

http://www.stocklemon.com/

Is Home Solutions a Natural Disaster Waiting to Happen?
Stocklemon Reports on (Amex:HOM)

What is Home Solutions?

Home Solutions was a dormant company and had no operations during most of 2002. Between then and the present, they have spent $50 million in cheap stock and expensive debt to acquire 5 small building services companies – $1.5 to $16 million apiece. These 5 companies comprise 100% of the present day HOM, which, in an astounding feat of new math, is now conferred a fully diluted market cap of over $440 million!

PPHM got a big boost today when they announced they have a new drug that fights bird flu, up 27%.
http://finance.yahoo.com/q?s=pphm

BAMM which I said was likely to make the IBD 100, probably will.  The Book seller smashed through 15 on almost 10x average daily volume.
http://finance.yahoo.com/q?s=bamm

AERTA is a building material company picked by eliteG.  They are profitable, with a beautiful chart and a low price.  Based in AK, they can take advantage of any hurricane damage.  Looks good.
http://finance.yahoo.com/q/pr?s=AERTA

NYER is a small NE Drug Chain that Terabeamo likes (I swiped the SIMC trade from Terabeamo, BTW).  It is profitable and trades on low volume.  Any interest in this stock (like a buy out) can cause this stock to surge.
http://finance.yahoo.com/q/pr?s=NYER

IFO was up another 10% or so to $34 on 5xadv.  I won the Cool Cat stock picking contest for May with this one – so I may just retire.  I was up over 100% while the next closest was a 19% gain.  Big Trader Susan was down 50% with ELSE, and finished last.

MED was also up 10% on great volume
http://finance.yahoo.com/q?s=med

SIMC was up 17% today thanks to Terabeamo again.
http://finance.yahoo.com/q?s=simc

PTSC was up 34% today.  I was down 50% on Monday and now I am in the green.
Stocks are wonderful.  This is a penny stock with a lot of contracts and has real potential.
http://finance.yahoo.com/q?s=PTSC.OB

Oil sands "stock" SOIGF was up 12% today.  This I consider charity money and I will find a good home for it.  Finding a good use for your money makes more enjoyable.

Wow.  I am one lucky guy – and I am glad I have so many friends to share my good fortune with.  But I won't let it get to my head. 

Snowy von Snowcat, the Snowyist cat around.

[snowcat]

06/05/06
I was always looking outside myself for strength and confidence, but it comes from within.  It is there all the time. – Anna Freud, psychologist.

Profit taking on IFO was steep today, but not all that unexpected.  The stock was well above the 50 dma and was due for a correction.   It may follow the market down or bounce b4 the split.  Even ERS took a big dive several times on its way up b4 its big death spiral.
http://finance.yahoo.com/q/bc?s=ERS&t=1y

Remember that taking profits along the way up will ensure that you do not go home empty handed. 

SIMC +3%, GIGM +9% and HSR +5% were up a bit today and I took profits on SOIGF at around 6 for 20% profit or so.

SIMC was bought by the Coolcat portfolio this morning along with AEHR.
AEHR makes test equipment and tests semi-conductor equipment.
http://finance.yahoo.com/q?s=aehr

On one of the IBD top 10 under $10 lists and the Bollinger list is building material maker AERTA.  They are also a selection of 3 Stocks on Fire.
http://www.investors.com/tr10/trsuform1.aspx

Here is another list of IBD top low priced stocks with 3SOF pick, IHR, if you are ready for a vacation.
http://biz.yahoo.com/special/low060506.html

And for the record, let us not forget the 
IIC Top 10 Under $10

GIGM ARTG DTLK SWB SWW STKL DSGX NUAN SLP CYB

Lots of winners can be culled from these lists.  GROW was on the list a few months ago b4 it soared to over $20!

Remember – It is not how much you make, but how much you take home.  Snowcat

[snowcat]

06/06/06
You must try to generate happiness within yourself.  If you aren't happy in one place, chances are you won't be happy anyplace. – Ernie Banks, baseball player

It has not been a happy week in Snowcat-land – but after today's drop, it made yesterday's drop look good.

Fortunately our sell rules were followed, right?
1-   sell if it drops 15% from its high
2-   sell if it drops big, 7%+, on high volume
3-   Sell if it is the feature story in Stocklemon.


Both COGO and SIMC met those criteria today too.

IFO and COGO were downgraded by some hacks also.

But COGO also had a buy recommendation.  Can't you guys make up your minds?

13:31  COGO Comtech: Would be aggressive buyers on the back of today's selloff driven by competitor downgrade and overall mkt weakness - Jefferies (13.29 -1.34) -Update- 

Jefferies would be aggressive buyers of COGO stock on the back of today's selloff driven by a competitor downgrade and overall mkt weakness. They continue to expect margin expansion at COGO in 2006 and 2007 due to expansion into richer margin businesses. A recent Wall St Journal article discussed the positive ripple effect of China-based service providers expanding overseas through acquisitions, and in the process benefiting leading China-based telecom equipment vendors such as ZTE and Huawei as new networks are built or upgraded, which the firm believes could ultimately benefit COGO. COGO is also unique in that they expect the co to be a major beneficiary of the Beijing Olympics in 2008, as they believe both 3G networks and digital television with be implemented in time for the games. In their view, COGO is well positioned to benefit from 3G wins in both the telecom equipment and mobile handset business, which they expect to hear more about over the next year.

Trouble at HOM continued:
oday they address the recently announced contract with ARH:

...This company was established only 5 days before the Home Solutions' Press Release was issued. As of the writing of this report, American Renaissance Homes does not even have a working phone number.

But it gets MUCH BETTER.

After a series of phone calls, we were able to speak with Alan Nazarro, COO of ARH and this is what we found out.

1. Home Solutions of America owns 40% of ARH.

2. The company currently has 0 contracts.

It is the opinion of Stocklemon that this is what we have witnessed: The company needed an announcement about some deal in Louisiana. Therefore, a subsidiary is established without ever publicly disclosing that it is a subsidiary. Then a contract is awarded to Home Solutions from the subsidiary to install homes for which there are no current contracts to install...

http://www.stocklemon.com/06_06_06.html

Be careful out there.  Keep a close watch on your money.  And if you had a lousy day, remember that there are plenty more great opportunities out there – I found them b4 and I'll find them again.  I got your back.  Snowcat.

A joke:

A rabbi was opening his mail one morning. Taking a single sheet of paper from an envelope he found written on it only one word: "shmuck." At the next Friday night service, the Rabbi announced, "I have known many people who have written letters and forgot to sign their names, but this week I received a letter from someone who signed his name, and forgot to write a letter."

There is always a solution:  A win win situation. Dig a moat the length of the Mexican border, take the dirt and raise the levees in New Orleans, and then put the Florida alligators into the border moat!   Use Mexican labor. 

[codycotton]

what do you think about the ZOMX news today

http://finance.yahoo.com/q/h?s=ZOMX

[snowcat]

Not sure - the turn in the chart and the volume look promising, but I cannot figure out what this company does - if anything at all.  There are no earnings and I do not know what they have to do to have earnings.  Their numbers are bad and the have a lot of baggage with an sec investigation and insider trading behind them.

I am not comfortable with the company, but that does not mean you cannot make money with it.  The market is bad

[Lucas Scott]

hey Snowcat - I need you to get my back. I was short HOM from above $10. Yesterday when HOM crashed I got a lucky partial cover at $4.80. The rest I covered at the close at $6.60. Today Ameritrade sends me email saying "oops the market maker said the $4.80 cover was filled in error" so they reopened my short position. When they sent me that email, HOM was trading at $8.50! That's the most unprofessional thing I've seen from a broker since I started trading. Putting someone back in a short position when the stock is up 30% today?? At the very least if they had reversed the order right away yesterday, I would have covered at $6.60 with the rest of my position. I explained the situation and asked them to compensate me with a couple of months of free trades. Their response:

"Thank you for your email. This was an issue of HOM halting trading several times yesterday. The trade was reverse as it was an erroneous fill. When a stock halts trading there is no way to get a fill. Since there were not share available as the stock was halted, the erroneous trade was corrected."

They didn't even address compensating me for this f*k-up?  How would you handle this?

[snowcat]

Lucas - Threaten to go to the SEC.  That will send shivers through their spine.  Mention that there is evidence that they kept the spread.  Write the letter by hand on a yellow legal pad and send it to the CEO of the company.

Do not let them go on this one.  Keep calling and e-mailing.  You can e-mail the CEO too.  Just have the documentation to justify your fight.

[snowcat]

06/07/06
We have too many high sounding words, and too few actions that correspond with them. – Abigail Adams, First lady

Some people jumped in on some buying today, as a lot of "my stocks" rebounded a bit.  SIMC had a nice rise on great volume, but pulled back near the end of the day.  It was over $12 but ended up at 11 ish – still up a respectable 8% and very buyable.
http://finance.yahoo.com/q?s=SIMC

HSR continued its awesome run, up 20%.  Airplanes will continue to fly and there is more focus on replacing older fuel inefficient planes.  If someone has to get somewhere, they will fly if they have to no matter what the price is.  Every plane I go on is full.  I can see this stock at 15+!  I loaded the boat on this one with my IFO $$.
http://finance.yahoo.com/q?s=hsr

Medical company, IRIS was up 7% on low volume.  I expect that to pick up.
http://finance.yahoo.com/q?s=iris
It finished near the high of the day.

One I purchased a few days ago when it shot up on big volume is MIKR.  They make infrared detection systems which may be used on the Mexican border.  The stock is up on strong volume.
http://finance.yahoo.com/q/bc?s=MIKR&t=1y

IFO was up 5% on great volume, but it got its second downgrade in two days.

HOM was up 17% on ridiculous volume and an upgrade, but I would be very cautious on this one.  Too many questions are arising about the company's projects.
http://finance.yahoo.com/q?s=hom

Two stocks to watch are 3SOF picks, ABG and MXWL.  Nice charts, great numbers, but no volume today.  They will go on the watch list.
http://finance.yahoo.com/q/cq?d=v1&s=abg+mxwl

I also picked up some ZOLT.  They make carbon fiber which is stronger than steel but a lot lighter.  It is used in windmills, but will likely be used in construction and autos.
I think that this is good for a 10 pt rise by next year should its financials pick up.
http://finance.yahoo.com/q/bc?s=ZOLT&t=1y

I took some more CUP, up 9% on big volume.
http://finance.yahoo.com/q?s=cup

Tomorrow I will be taking off.  I will be treating myself to see a TV show live in NYC.  I bought the tickets in a charity auction.  It should be fun.

Keep an eye on the market for me.  Snowcat

[1reilly]

Lucas
Don't accept their comments at face value. First of all were you notified before the open the following day that the trade had been canceled. At Morgan We had a policy that all cancels had to be notified before the following day's open. All trades settle for confirms prior to the next days open. Your firm  knew that trade was canceled and you must ask for a copy of the cancel notification time stamped to your firm. This will give you fire power related to when you should have been notified . Second if they are using intraday halts as an excuse then tell them you want time and quotes for all reopening trades following the halt. Third when you sold the balance of your position your intent was to have a zero position. You are still short only because they sent you an incorrect confirm. You also are in the position for a greater liabilty because you were not notified in a timely manner and entered a following day without knowledge of the cancelation. If they don't give you a price adjustment then I would file a written complaint with their compliance department. Let me tell you that written complaints must be dealt with in a legal manner. Tell them you want in writing the exact details of the entire transaction and claim damages for the difference between your sale of the remaining position and the sale of the canceled shares transaction. They will be forced to have a compliance attorney call you and it goes in their complaint file for Nasdeq and NYSE audits. Don't persue free trades claim damages. Hope this helps.
Mike

[Lucas Scott]

Thanks for the advice Snowcat and 1Reilly.

Mike - I was not notified before the open. The email they sent was time-stamped 11:23 EST, almost 2 hours after the open this morning. Also, the HOM trade at $4.80 was listed on my confirm last night.  I'll request a price adjustment and file a written complaint with their compliance department if they do not give it to me.

[1reilly]

Lucas
I just want to be sure about this time stamp issue. The fact that you've got your e-mail from them is one thing. What you want to ask for is the canceled trade notification they got from the clearing house or the executing broker. That is what will cause them real problems.
I think you'll get some satisfaction.

Sorry Snowcat this is your space and I really appreciate and enjoy your updates. Maybe together we have helped Luke.
Mike