Tag - Topt

TOP Tankers Inc. (Nasdaq: TOPT)
Maroussi, Greece
 
52-week low / high: $3.15/$8.40
Shares Outstanding: 37.38 million
Market Capitalization: $159 million

Calling all value investors. You might be interested in a little Greek international shipping company called Top Tankers Inc. (Nasdaq: TOPT). Aside from operating in what could be the most promising sector for 2008 (drybulk), the company is deeply undervalued.

The transporter of refined petroleum products, crude oil and other commodities trades at a discount to the industry. On a trailing price-to-earnings basis the company trades at 6.58 times, compared with 14.38 for the industry group. On a forward P/E basis, the small cap currently trades at a cheap 8.8 times.

Aside from valuation, another metric value investors look for are strong fundamentals. On a fundamental basis, the company currently remains a watch as it’s not fundamentally sound. For the nine months ended Sept. 30, 2007, the company careened to a net loss of $11.64 million, or $0.34 per share, compared with net income of $11.93 million, or $0.37 per share, for the nine months ended Sept. 30, 2006. Revenue for the nine months ended Sept. 30, 2007 sunk 17% to $200.47 million from $242.25 million for the first nine months of 2006.

Shares of Top Tankers Inc. (Nasdaq: TOPT) jumped this morning after the Greek shipper of crude oil said that it entered into agreements to acquire three drybulk panamax vessels from unrelated third parties for an aggregate price tag of approximately $222 million.

According to the company, the vessels are scheduled to be delivered between September 2007 and March 2008 and will be entered into spot market trading at that time.

Top Tankers said it intends to finance its acquisitions through new loan facilities, working capital, and proceeds from future capital raisings.

Shares of Top Tankers gained $0.94, or 18.8%, to $5.93 Monday morning.

The Russell 2000 (NYSE: IWM) and the Dow Jones Industrial Average (INDU) are higher on news of higher-than-expected U.S. retail sales in July.

At 10:06 a.m. ET the Russell 2000 had added 8.66 points, or 1.10%, to 797.44. The Dow had added 68.12 points, or 0.51%, to 13,307.66.

Retail sales in July added 0.3% to a seasonally adjusted $376.1 billion, the U.S. Census Bureau reported this morning. That’s above the projected increase of. 0.2% and an improvement over June’s drop of 0.7%.

The increase was evident in almost all categories except sales of automobiles and car parts, which declined 0.2%. Excluding autos, retail sales expanded 0.4%.

On a year-over-year basis, retail sales in July were up 3.2% compared with the same month on 2006. The only categories posting a decline were sales of building materials and gardening supplies, as well as department store sales.

Elsewhere, the European Central Bank announced that it has injected $65 billion into money markets to boost liquidity, its third consecutive business day of interventions.
Motivated by similar concerns, the Bank of Japan announced that it has added $5.1 billion, while South Korea’s finance ministry said that it is ready to supplant funds if necessary.

The following are the most actively traded company's with market capitalizations under $500 million:

Shares of Top Tankers Inc. (Nasdaq: TOPT) are cruising higher this morning after the Greek shipper of crude oil reported second-quarter results above analyst estimates.

For the three months ended June 30, the small-cap recorded net income of $5.8 million, or $0.18 per share, while two analysts polled by Thomson Financial expected earnings of $0.02 per share. This compares with a net loss of $6.8 million, or $0.24 per share, for the second quarter of 2006.

Shares of Top Tankers climbed 8.55%, or $0.57, to $7.24 in pre-market trading.

(See related story, An interview with Kevin Kennedy, Aug 1)

Kevin Kennedy’s Coolcat Explosive Small Cap Growth Stock Report, launched in October 1997, has been ranked America’s No. 1 investment newsletter by independent rating service The Hulbert Financial Digest. And no wonder: the newsletter’s portfolios have posted an overall gain for the eight years ending in 2006 of a whopping 440%, or 23.5% on an annualized basis.

Kennedy, a veteran of more than 20 years in newspaper journalism, recently shared his investing philosophy and opinions in an interview with SmallCapInvestor.com, and named his three top small-cap picks--Lifeway Foods Inc. (Nasdaq: LWAY), Hoku Scientific (Nasdaq: HOKU) and TOP Tankers (Nasdaq: TOPT).  

Explain your investment process and criteria for investments.

My focus is finding the strongest stocks in the strongest market conditions and using money management approaches to maximize gains and cut losses short.

The strength of the market can represent up to 50% of the reason for a stock’s gains, so it’s very important to be in sync with the market. I focus on the Nasdaq Composite and look for it to be trading above its 50-day moving average as a basic measure of market strength.

If the market is strong, I will be more aggressive; if the market is weak, I will retreat to mostly cash.

In a strong market I look for the strongest stocks. I am talking primarily about technical price strength as opposed to fundamentals. I look for high relative strength, recent new 52-week highs and strong volume on up days.

I then look under the hood. What is the fundamental story that is driving the price higher? It could be strong recent earnings. It could be in a sector that has been strong. It could have new product news or announcements of new contracts.

I look to buy stocks like this on a modest pullback and then use money management rules to take profits and cut losses. I go into more depth on this process in The Coolcat Guide to Winning Stocks on our CoolcatReport.com website.

The Russell 2000 gained the most as the major U.S. indices ended the day in positive territory.  The Russell 2000 added 7.60 points, or 0.92%, to 837.53.  The Dow Jones Industrial Average moved up 14.06 points, or 0.10%, to close at 13,521.34.

Shares of CT Communications, Inc. (Nasdaq: CTCI) were the big winners today on news the Concord, N.C.-based telecommunications company will be purchased by Windstream Corp. (NYSE: WIN).  The two companies have entered into a definitive agreement that all outstanding shares of CT Communications will be purchased for a price of $31.50 per share in cash, Windstream said before the start of trading.

Shares of G. Willi-Food International Ltd. (Nasdaq: WILC) are rising on news this morning that the Israeli food importer reported a first-quarter 2007 net income of $1.6 million, or $0.15 per share, compared with a net income of $5.5 million, or $0.63 per share, recorded in the first quarter of 2006.  Wall Street was expecting earnings of $0.14 per share.  The stock is up $0.06, or 1%, to $7.96.

The following are the most actively traded companies in pre-market trading among those with market capitalizations under $500 million:

The following are the most actively traded companies in Monday's trading among those with market capitalizations under $500 million:

U.S. stocks are trading close to the flat line after the open, following news of major developments on the merger and acquisition front.

At 10:05 a.m. ET the Russell 2000 was up 2.88 points, or 0.35 percent, to 826.54.  Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 2.44 points, or 0.02 percent, to 13,558.97.

General Electric Co. (NYSE: GE) has agreed to sell its plastics business to Saudi Arabian chemicals company Saudi Basic Industries Corp. for $11.6 billion in cash.  News of the deal first broke on Friday, May 18.  GE is set to receive $9 billion in after-tax proceeds.

In other business news, private equity group Blackstone Group LP will go public and raise $7.75 billion by selling stock to the general public and the Chinese government.  Blackstone will offer as many as 153.3 million shares for $29 to $31 each to raise $4.75 billion, and give an 8% share to the Chinese government for $3 billion.

The following are the most actively traded companies in Friday's trading among those with market capitalizations under $500 million:

The following are the most actively traded companies in pre-market trading among those with market capitalizations under $500 million:

The Russell 2000 small cap index lost for the fourth time this week as the major U.S. indices dropped on news of mixed economic data.  In specific small cap action, Opnext Inc. (Nasdaq: OPXT) fell on news its quarterly profit was short of expectations, while shares of Gerber Scientific, Inc. (NYSE: GRB) gained after the company raised its guidance.

The Russell 2000 lost 4.56 points, or 0.56%, to 815.64.  The Dow Jones Industrial Average broke the 13,500 barrier in intraday trading but eventually shed 10.81 points, or 0.08%, to close at 13,476.72.

DUSA Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (Nasdaq: DUSA) has been granted an orphan drug designation by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for its drug Levulan, which treats esophageal dysplasia, the Wilmington, Mass.-based dermatology company said this morning.  Esophageal dysplasia is a leading cause of esophageal cancer.  Once a company receives approval from the FDA to market its orphan-designated product, it is entitled to seven years of marketing exclusivity.  Nevertheless, shares are up $0.15, or 5%, to $2.77.