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VOLUME 07 : ISSUE 106
Is
Healthcare Finally Healed? Timing is Everything
You
may have seen my comments about Spicy Pickle (OTCBB:
SPKL) in the blog
on Thursday. However, I think what I said then is important enough
to reiterate - and add to - here in the newsletter. What was my
message? Simple - if you're looking for a great entry level into a long-term
SPKL position, I think the window of opportunity is open now. More on that
in a second. In the meantime...
Has
anybody else noticed the developing uptrend in the healthcare sector?
While the uptrend appears to have been more volatile than most other stocks
over the last three years, these stocks have also made a habit of more
than recovering from the selloffs. More recently, we're starting to see
healthcare outperform other sectors....something we haven't seen in a while.
Might
there be a trade-worthy idea somewhere in the middle of all that new strength?
We
believe there is. In fact, we're so compelled by it, we're going to
log today's stock pick as an official trade suggestion on our 'Trading
Alerts' page. Let's start with a brief comment on Spicy Pickle first,
and then get to our newest trading suggestion.
Picking
the Proper Price For the 'Pickle'
In
recent blog entries I've talked at great length about the difference between
investing
and trading. In my memory, the most profitable market participants
are the ones who understood that difference. The discussion resurfaced
again when we introduced Spicy Pickle back on September
22nd. We knew its momentum at the time was mostly built on hype and
newness, yet we still made some very quick money on the trade - it moved
from 69 cents to $1.40 in only a few weeks, letting many of you pocket
some big gains.
As
I later said when I told you to lock in the gain, euphoria wears off. When
it does, stocks can fall back (which is why I said to lock in the gain).
Sure enough, SPKL fell back. In fact, it made a full 61.8% retracement
of its big run-up. More than that, the support at the 61.8% line
held up as support on Thursday, and actually pushed the stock higher again
on Friday. In other words, the 'easing' phase after its euphoric rise may
also be complete.
Now
that the initial 'trading' is out of the way, I think we should be looking
at the stock from an investor's point of view, which is a longer-term view.
However, it doesn't mean you can't take advantage of a short-term
pricing opportunity. If you liked the company's long-term prospects
but were waiting for the perfect time to get into the stock, I think we're
there now.
That's
not to say there won't be volatility injected again in the future. That's
going to happen over and over again. In fact, I think they have earnings
coming up pretty soon, which should push the stock around pretty good.
What I'm talking about is looking past the upcoming quarterly numbers,
and instead looking at next year's likely numbers. In those terms, I think
Spicy Pickle is a great value at $1.34.
Tenet
Healthcare - Finally Healthy Again?
Take
a look at the nearby chart of the S&P Healthcare Index. Like I said
above, there's been a lot of volatility for healthcare of late, but overall
it's been a somewhat rewarding roller-coaster ride. How rewarding?
The index is up about 25% since this time in 2002. That's not bad, but
the sector was clearly a laggard during that time frame.
The
thing is - and as most of you probably know by now - I'm a firm
believer in sector rotation. That just means I think what's hot
today will be cold tomorrow, and what's cold today will be hot tomorrow...metaphorically
speaking. So, I'm the kind of guy that's willing to sell some of my basic
materials and energy stocks (which have been red hot this year) and start
taking serious looks at and healthcare and transportation stocks (which
have been lackluster this year). Like I often say, the best time to become
on owner of a stock is when nobody else seems to want it - before
it becomes popular again.
The
'evidence' of rotation into healthcare has been subtle so far, but here's
my observation.....healthcare's strength is moving up the charts, so to
speak. In terms of performance over the last twelve months, healthcare
ranks ninth out of the eleven major sectors. Over the last six months,
it ranks seventh. The three month rank is also seventh. For the month,
it's in fifth place, and over the last two weeks it's ranked fourth. Granted,
some of the higher rankings are by the virtue of losing less, but you can
still see the relative progress.
The
other consideration is the possibility of the 'R' word...recession.
I'm not saying I think we're headed that way, though it seems to be a bigger
worry now than it usually is. I am saying, however, that fear of a recession
alone could drive investors into the safer arenas like healthcare. And,
should we truly enter a recession - however you define it - then
healthcare could be poised to do well for a fairly extended period of time.
There
are a handful of ways to jump into this sector-based trading idea. The
most obvious is an exchange-traded-fund, or ETF. The iShares Dow Jones
Healthcare Index (NYSE:
IHF) is a pretty good one, and so is the Healthcare Select Sector
SPDR (AMEX:
XLV). Vanguard's Health Care ETF (NYSE:
VHT) has plenty of liquidity as well. If you're looking for more
horsepower, many of the ETFs or healthcare indices are optionable.
As
for a specific healthcare stock 'trading idea', we've been really impressed
by Tenet Healthcare Corp. (NYSE:
THC). Not only do we think THC will get the added boost of being
in the right sector at the right time, but Tenet's chart has provided us
with a couple of bullish hints over the last few weeks.
Specifically,
notice how Tenet shares have broken above the resistance level around $3.60.
In fact, it blew past that line on November 6th with a high volume surge.
The
catalyst on the 6th? Last quarter, Tenet posted a smaller loss on higher
revenues. The market appears to have picked up on that, and is now thinking
the company can stay on the same path. The logic makes sense. I've said
it before...you buy stocks for where the company is going - not for
where they've been. Tenet seems to be moving in the right direction, which
is towards profitability.
In
terms of a target, I think $7.67 would be a good level to take some profits.
That's just a tad under the highs for the year, as you can see on the chart.
Yes, it's 88.9% above the current trading level. That's a big target, but
we didn't say it was going to happen overnight. We view this as more of
a longer-term position. For a stop, I think I'd be out with any trade at
or under $3.17, which is about the average of all the lows hit between
August and October.
We
Value Your Feedback
Got comments, questions or suggestions?
Send 'em on over: Email
the Editor
If you wish to send a written request
or inquiry, please send it to our physical address:
TGR Group, LLC
4653 Carmel Mtn Rd Suite 308 #402
San Diego, CA 92130
Cel-Sci
Responds to Potential 'Buyout' Issue With Shareholder Rights Plan
Back
in October 20th edition of the newsletter ('Big
Pharma, Small Biotech - Who Needs Who?') I spent a little time talking
about the potential for a buyout of small cap biotech company CEL-SCI (AMEX:
CVM). Or more specifically, I gave my reason why I thought an acquisition
by a big pharma company was very unlikely. Well, now you can add another
reason to the list. CEL-SCI announced the adoption of a shareholder rights
plan that would make it even tougher to facilitate a take-over.
Disclaimers
and warnings first....the rights plan will not prevent an acquisition.
In fact, it's not even designed to stave one off. The only goal (and this
is from the company) of the plan is to protect current shareholders' interests
in the event of one. If it's going to happen, the plan will ensure that
current owners get at least fair value for their stake.
Why
bother? Because with some acquisitions, shareholders receive less that
what they should. The term the company used was 'coercive accumulation
practices', which can and do occur (especially when the company is of the
'small cap' variety).
Anyway,
the deal basically gives current owners the right to buy more shares at
a ridiculously low price. Through two tranches of rights (the option to
buy a stock), current owners will be able to buy more shares at 20% of
their value at the time, and/or 50% less than the value at the time if
further conditions are met.
Like
I said, technically this won't bar an acquisition. However, you do the
math here. If current owners can get such a deep discount and dilute the
takeover attempt, the prospect of a buyout is incredibly unattractive to
any suitors. They'll have to end up possibly paying more than the market
value at the time, and they'll need a lot more shares to actually gain
control of the company.
The
plan is in effect through 2015. That should be more than enough time for
the company to get through Phase III testing of Multikine and start generating
revenue with it. If and when that happens, we suspect CEL-SCI shares will
be far too expensive to even consider a buyout.
Anyway,
for the official release, click
here.
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The Small Cap
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its readers with factual information on select publicly traded companies.
SCN is owned and operated by TGR Group, LLC ("TGR"). All companies are
chosen on the basis of certain financial analysis and other pertinent criteria
with a view toward maximizing the upside potential for investors while
minimizing the downside risk, whenever possible. Moreover, as detailed
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Click
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Larry Isen, the editor and publisher
of the OTC Journal, through various entities he controls, has purchased
1,200,441 shares of Spicy Pickle at an average cost of $.2125 per share.
These purchases were made in Spicy Pickle private offerings. The aforementioned
purchases were made between August of 2005 and August of 2006. In addition,
Larry Isen has received 785,000 shares of Spicy Pickle common stock for
consulting services. In addition, MarketByte LLC, an entity controlled
by Larry Isen, has received a fee of $30,000 cash, and 300,000 newly issued
restricted shares for coverage of Spicy Pickle. TGR Group LLC, the publisher
of the Small Cap Network, has received $30,000 and 300,000 newly issued
restricted shares for coverage of Spicy Pickle. Mr. Isen is an affiliate
of TGR Group. In addition, two other individuals affiliated with TGR Group
have purchased a total of 300,000 shares at $.25 per share and received
an additional 70,000 for consulting services. Current positions of the
aforementioned can be found at www.otcjournal.com and access.smallcapnetwork.com
in the Spicy Pickle information section.
TGR Group LLC has been paid a fee
of $25,000 and 150,000 shares of newly issued restricted stock by Cel-Sci
for coverage of the Company. The aforementioned 150,000 restricted shares
have become free trading under SEC rule 144. Additionally, back in November
of 2002, TGR Group LLC was paid a fee of $25,000 and 250,000 shares of
newly issued restricted stock of Cel-Sci for coverage of the company until
November of 2003. The aforementioned 250,000 restricted shares became free
trading under SEC rule 144 and were sold in the open market prior to the
company entering into a new contract agreement with TGR Group in February
of 2006.
From time to time TGR sells shares
received as compensation for coverage of client companies. Shares received
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TGR does not view the sale of the shares as contradictory to any opinions
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