StemCells, Inc. (STEM) has been the poster child for the stem cell industry since late 2008.  It has made many people rich speculating on the ups and downs of this particular stock.  With its ticker symbol that seems to represent the entire industry, investors and traders have made this a very popular stock.

Their is an old saying that says “when the media sneezes, the whole world catches cold”.  That has certainly been a huge factor in the rise (and fall) of STEM and other stem cell stocks.  Stem cell hysteria has hit several times over the past few months with investor interest being peaked by media hype.

Here is a description of the company from Yahoo! Finance:  StemCells, Inc., a clinical-stage biotechnology company, focuses on the research, development, and commercialization of products derived from stem cell technologies. It focuses on developing cell-based therapeutics to treat diseases of the central nervous system and liver.

Most stem cell companies that I have seen are very far away from making their particular take on the propagation or use of stem cells profitable.  STEM is no different.  It does have some revenues, but expenses far outweigh revenues.  The good news for STEM is that management has used all of this hype and interest in stem cell stock pay dividends in the form of equity raises and fundraising.  STEM has an impressive cache of cash (over $28MM as of 9-30–09), but at a $7MM quarterly burn rate that cash will last them a year.  STEM will probably never seen penny stock land again and I could see it upgrading its listing in the future.

Chart analysis:

STEM has an interesting chart that bears watching.  See my annotations below.

The stock appears to be basing at this level and performance of this stock could depend solely on what news comes out regarding stem cells in the next few weeks.

For those traders who want to be ready for the next stem cell explosion, here are some tickers that you should hold on to:

ACTC  * ALXN * AOLS * ARIA * ASTM * BHRT * BMSN * BTIM * CBAI * CCEL * CELG * CRIS * CUR * DNDN * GERN * IART * INCR * ISCO * KOOL * MCET * MEDS * OCHT * OSTE * OSIR * PKI * PPMD * PSTI * SPPI * STEM * VODG

I have previously blogged ACTC, ARIA, CBAI, PSTI and now STEM.

There is a strong short sentiment about STEM with the latest Yahoo! stats showing a short percentage of 15.6% as of 2-12-10

In my opinion, STEM has a nice setup.  Any strength in the stock and the short squeeze will only accelerate the gains.  The stock should be avoided on any break below the current support of $1.16

Good luck and good trading,

Jeffrey Dean

Editor

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DO NOT BASE ANY INVESTMENT DECISION UPON ANY MATERIALS FOUND ON THIS REPORT. We are not registered as a securities broker-dealer or an investment adviser either with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) or with any state securities regulatory authority. We are neither licensed nor qualified to provide investment advice. Neither InvestorSoup.com nor its affiliates have a beneficial interest in the mentioned company; nor have they received compensation of any kind for any of the companies listed in this communication. The information contained in our report is not an offer to buy or sell securities. We distribute opinions, comments and information free of charge exclusively to individuals who wish to receive them.

In the stock screening software that I use, I can slice and dice information in seemingly millions of ways.  Today, I searched for companies that were on a prolonged downtrend of 8 days or more.  Many of the companies that I found in the inauspicious group deserved to be there.  One didn’t:  Ariad Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (ARIA)

ARIA has had an distressing TEN (10) down days in a row. I searched news for reasons for such a prolonged decline and couldn’t find any.  They had no FDA turndowns, no going concern issues, no debt restructuring that will wipe out all common stockholders….NOTHING.

All I could find was a company that had a strong balance sheet, good liquidity and some VERY promising drug candidates.   ARIA is a biotechnology company focused on developing drugs to fight cancer.  They have two drugs: Ridaforolimus and AP24534 that, according to the company, look have great potential.  The links are for my readers to read about these drugs themselves.

The main issue facing the company is financing…because of their high cash burn rate.  The company is not under any going concern cloud currently, but they are going to need more money either through an equity raise, debt or co-development funds from partners like Merck (on Ridaforolimus).  Based upon what I see and my conversations with the company, I don’t think that will be a problem.

The chart speaks volumes to me:

The stock has rallied slightly today, but after such a long decline, I wouldn’t be surprised if it roars back.  Long-term this could be a very good stock to own, but since I am not a long-term investor forget I said that.

Short-term doesn’t look bad though.  ARIA is a very well put together company, IMO.

Good luck and good trading!

Put this one on your radar right away.

Imaging3, Inc. (IMGG) announced at 6.01 a.m this morning the successful raising of over $2.6 MM through several private placements.  Raising capital is a good thing, right? Not necessarily.  The average price PER SHARE of the capital raise was TWO AND ONE HALF CENTS ($0.025). The problem is the small cap stock is trading currently at SEVENTY CENTS ($.70).  To Read full release:  Click Here

Pretty clear signal to traders that the true value to the penny stock IS TWO AND ONE HALF CENTS .  And, unless these are restricted shares, we could have some very happy, profit-oriented sellers in the penny stock.

The chart also shows a small cap stock that is extended.

It is trading near its 52-week high (September 24th, 2009 at $.74) and I am thinking it will crack soon.

If you trade it, make sure you bracket it properly.

Personal Note:  Today is my Dad’s 83rd birthday.  I send out my love to Kenneth Dean, my dad.  He is the inspiration for what I do.  He caught the love of stocks from his father and has passed it on to me.  HAPPY BIRTHDAY, DAD

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DO NOT BASE ANY INVESTMENT DECISION UPON ANY MATERIALS FOUND ON THIS REPORT. We are not registered as a securities broker-dealer or an investment adviser either with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) or with any state securities regulatory authority. We are neither licensed nor qualified to provide investment advice. Neither InvestorSoup.com nor its affiliates have a beneficial interest in the mentioned company; nor have they received compensation of any kind for any of the companies listed in this communication. The information contained in our report is not an offer to buy or sell securities. We distribute opinions, comments and information free of charge exclusively to individuals who wish to receive them.

I did a blog a few months back about a stock that critics love to hate:  Taser International, Inc. (TASR).

Bad news seems to follow TASR wherever it goes. I am always reading about law enforcement “abusing” those poor criminals by using Taser Guns.   I am not getting into the politics and hyperbole surrounding this company and its products other than to say that I would rather keep this tool in law enforcements hands than not.

My blog was back on May 26:  Read it Here.  I think that it is time to take a look at TASR again.  It performed very well the last time that I profiled it at around $4.00.  It hit a top of about $5.50 in August, but had several peaks and valleys that were tradeable along the way.  The stock is now at the $4.50 range and is just coming out of an oversold position.  The MACD is flat (and below the zero line) and not indicating a direction…yet.

Here is the chart:

What I like about TASR is that they, despite all of the negative press, know how to run a profitable company.  Here is a quote from my last blog in May that still apply to TASR:

“I am still bullish on the stock, however.  I took a look at their financials and key statistics and came away impressed.  They have a very solid cash position, no long term debt (which I like), and solid revenues.  They did show a small operating loss in the most recent calendar quarter, but I see that as more as a blip than a trend.  What is most encouraging is that they are well diversified in several strong, recession resistant (is anything recession proof these days?) markets (law enforcement and military)…….. ”

TASR probably won’t be a home run, but it could be a solid single or double (using baseball parlance). The company is adding exciting new products, continuing their globalization and have entrenched themselves as a friend and ally to law enforcement.

GameStop Corp. (GME) is a video game and entertainment software retailer.  The Company sells new and used video game software as well as hardware and hardware and accessories for video game systems from Sony, Nintendo and Microsoft.  The Company also sells PC entertainment software, related accessories and other merchandise.  As of August 20, 2009, GME operated 6,333 retail stores in 17 countries and an e-commerce site, GameStop.com.  The Company also publishes Game Informer® magazine, a leading multi-platform video game publication. continue

I don’t usually blog stocks that I am sending out alerts on, but today I will make an exception.  Last night, I sent out an alert to our subscribers about COPsync, Inc. (COYN).  I am not going to regurgitate what I wrote in our alert.  I may recap a few things, but I want to give a fresh perspective.  Email me and I will forward the alert to you - editor@investorsoup.com

What do they do?

COYN is a company that has a software product they are selling to the law enforcement community nationwide.  The software is a data solution that has the ability to collect 100% of an officer’s activity in an electronic format – at the point of incident – creating the ability to share this same date – real time – regardless of agency or their existing technology.  Here is COPsync’s website, so you can check it out yourself.  www.copsync.com

Why should I care?

According to the company, they are the only software solution in the marketplace that can provide the functionality that they do.  Already, COYN has sold their solution into over 200 agencies, departments and jurisdictions.  The other fact that I am excited about is what we called in my venture capital past:  Barriers to Entry.  To be the first to market with a product and to have it successfully adopted (which COYN is in the process of doing) gives COYN a real competitive advantage.  They are also a “neutral”product in the sense that they are not replacing all of the software that is currently in the market (Record Management, Jail Management, Dispatch or other law enforcement software), but instead they are partnering with these mfgrs. to integrate COYN’s software with them.

Did I also mention that they are generating revenues?  They estimate that they will generate $350K in Q2 of 2009 and will almost double that for Q3.  They have only sold into the tip of the iceberg (mainly Texas which is their backyard) and are working to open many more markets.

What does the chart say!

The stock is trading below both the 50 and 200 MA and near the bottom of the bollinger bands.  Stochastics indicate that buying activity has increased and the angle indicates bullishness.  Having come off by almost 50% from its high of just two months ago, it looks like it could fly.  Resistance levels are numerous.  From the chart, you could say there are resistance levels at every 5 cent increment all the way up to 65 cents.  The MACD is below the zero line, but appears to be turning.  It will turn fast if this stock takes off!

This is a stock that is worth keeping on your trading radar.

I scour the message boards and sites to find out what are the “Hot Stocks”.  Some are not worth talking about, but others have made for interesting blogs and articles (HEB, KERX, SPNG and others).  Today, my blog is about Juniper Group, Inc. (JNIP)

Today already (about 12 EST), JNIP had traded over 500 MILLION  shares. That is a lot of shares in anyone’s book.  The shares are up 33% for the day.  BUT, Let’s put that in perspective.  The opening for one share of JNIP was .0003.  In other words, 3/10 of a penny.  The stock has zoomed to 4/10 of a penny in heavy trading.

Is JNIP going to be a sub-penny for the rest of its life or is there a real company there?  Is their story going to turn out more like SPNG or one of the other countless stocks that are in the penny stock graveyard?  I can honestly say, “I am thinking graveyard”.

Juniper Group, Inc. does business through two subsidiaries:

1. Broadband Installation and Wireless Infrastructure Services

and, surprisingly

2. Film Distribution Services (more on that one later)

They are doing a great job of press releasing about all the deals they have inked.  One of their latest press releases is about signing a deal with a “wireless industry giant”.  What this (and other releases) are not telling traders is the financial ramifications of these projects.  Specifically, what dollar amount are we talking about?  Taken at face value, these press releases seem to indicate that the company is moving forward and going to be generating income and be profitable.  It all sounds good until you put things in perspective.

Here is some perspective for you!

The company has serious going concern issues.  The 10-K audit opinion carried a going concern exception.  It appears that the company has little or no capital to grow.  JNIP did just get approx. $800K in financing, but at 13.2% interest and highly dilutive if converted into stock.  They will most likely face both shareholder and SEC suits  over the private sale of stock without the proper exemptions from registration.  That has left them open to suits from investors, past and present and actions from the  SEC.   They are “in a heap of trouble” as my father would say.

Perhaps the most damaging revelation about JNIP revolves around their issuance of callable preferred convertible notes.  In the 10-K (available for free off of their site), you should read pages 8 and 9 and you will be horrified.  I won’t abstract all of the information here, except to quote one line:

“Our obligation to issue shares upon converion of our callable secured convertible notes is essentially limitless”

JNIP isn’t kidding either.  At current prices, if those notes were converted current shareholders could own less than 1% of the company!

I also call into question whether this company can generate the kind of sales, both in absolute dollars and growth rate, that will make this stock attractive for anything other than a penny stock play.  I have serious doubts that a service agreement business model will afford this company the kind of meteoric growth it needs to keep investors interested and creditors at bay.

One last note:  Be worried when your wireless infrastructure play is also a movie producer

One last, last note:  I would stay so far away from the deal, I would need the Hubble Telescope to see it….or short the heck out of it, if you can find shares.

Today’s Stock Alerts include: Exxon Mobil Corp. (NYSE: XOM), International Business Machines Corp. (NYSE: IBM), Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc. (Nasdaq: REGN), Pfizer Inc. (NYSE: PFE), Wendy’s/Arby’s Group Inc. (NYSE: WEN), Human Genome Sciences Inc. (Nasdaq: HGSI).

Exxon Mobil Corp. (NYSE: XOM) Stock Alert - XOM, TransCanada Reach Agreement to Build a $26 billion Pipeline

Exxon Mobile Corp. (NYSE: XOM) shares slipped .86% to $73.39 in today’s early trading. The oil giant, which boasts of the largest proven natural gas reserves on the north slope of Alaska, recently reached an agreement to work together with TransCanada on a $26 billion Alaska Pipeline Project. continue