Authentidate: Ripe for the Taking

By Guest Columnist: Ankit Gupta http://www.selectedfinancials.com

Authentidate (Nasdaq: ADAT): Significant Opportunities for Revenue Growth

Every now and then I like to give guest authors a chance to share their views either on the stocks that I already cover, or names that I don’t, but that I feel would benefit my readers. Some of these author’s viewpoints agree with mine, and some don’t.

I feel that the more information you have about a particular company, stock or the market in general, the better decisions you can make regarding your investments and what actions you should take in regards to those investments.

Today’s guest author is Ankit Gupta who runs his own blog: http://www.selectedfinancials.com

Ankit is also a student at Purdue University that has a passion for creating businesses and helping them overcome their largest hurdles. He is currently involved with a startup out of Indianapolis and also on the board of Purdue’s Publishing Foundation. His other hobbies include reading, exercising, and finding companies to invest in that have a great story to help take them forward.

Please note that this is not a formal recommendation, just an information piece designed to allow you access to companies that I might never cover, but that are worth a look for your portfolio.

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Well, as you’ve probably noticed, I haven’t written in quite some time.

There’s good news and bad news as far as that goes…

First the bad, at least as far as you are concerned as a reader of PeakStocks.com:

I won’t be posting anything for the foreseeable future.

Now for the good:

The reason that I won’t be posting anything for the foreseeable future is because I am working on my life’s work and one of my biggest passions in life (other than stocks of course!), and it has taken all my energy, focus and dedication to make that business work.

I Want to Say Thanks!

I really enjoyed writing for all of you out there, it was a freaking blast, and I still am keeping track of a few holdings (you can follow me on Twitter, where I’ll occasionally blast out some info), but I am no longer doing what is necessary to make this site an ongoing concern, at least as far as taking actionable advice on my recommendations.

I still love stocks, research and investing, but the time commitment that I put into running this site and making it explode and generate the type of traffic that grew to over 10,000 unique visitors per month (thanks!), was too much to bear, especially in light of the fact that it was a labor of love and was not making me a dime.

But Wait…You Can Contribute and Make Some Money

But, because I am still so extremely passionate about stocks, and know that I will crush the market over the long term investing in small and micro-cap stocks, I wanted to turn the site over to YOU.

Here’s 2 things that I am proposing:

1) Many of you out there that read this blog are extremely good investors with a wealth of knowledge and expertise.

I know that you know just as much as I do and more (at least when it pertains to certain companies that you know inside and out like nobody’s business).

So, what I would like to do is post any articles and well-thought-out research that anyone wants to contribute.

You’ll get some free pub (PeakStocks.com is syndicated ALL over the Internet!), free traffic to your own website, or just speak your mind if you don’t care about that.

Now I will warn you, I won’t post garbage.

You must be insightful, have a good point to make backed up with real research (whether I agree with you or not), and be passionate about what you are saying and the company or investment strategy you are touting.

2) The second thing that I am looking for is a deeper relationship.

I am looking for any individual, of any background (you do not have to have a college degree, etc.), that is as passionate about stocks, specifically small and micro cap stocks, as I am, and would be willing to run PeakStocks.com and help me transition the site into a new PAID (yep, you heard that right…) business model.

I have big plans for PeakStocks.com, and while I intend to come back to the site and implement the new business model, when I do that is still up for debate.

A partner helps me do that RIGHT NOW, while not taking me away from my current business endeavors.

We would of course split the profits, and all that I would want from you is your passion, honesty, integrity, and willingness to put in a few good hours a day, maybe 10-20 per week, for the chance to make some good recurring revenue.

This of course is a vetting process, so expect me to be VERY picky, since I am essentially giving you half of my kingdom.

Simply write to me via the “contact” link at the bottom of any page on the site.

So Long For Now…

Just in case you don’t hear from me for awhile, I wanted to say thank you!

It has been my sincere pleasure to serve you, write for you, and yea, even fight back some of the haters out there that never agreed with my stock picks…

I loved every second of it, and intend to return someday, but when that is, I cannot say.

For now, it’s so long, but I hope to hear from some of you to continue what I started and create an even BETTER website than I could ever have done on my own!

Thanks so much, and take care!

Chris

Today is a day to give thanks.

I know it’s a little early for Thanksgiving, but I’m talking about being thankful to Uncle Sam and the U.S. government for the bountiful opportunity they have given us to make huge loads of money in a relatively short amount of time.

I’m talking about shorting U.S. debt via 2 specific, but very risky vehicles:

• Ultrashort Lehman 20+Year Treasury Proshares (NYSE: TBT)
• Direxion Daily 30 Year Treasury Bear 3X Shares (NYSE: TMV)

–> Get updates and real-time stock trades you WON’T find on PeakStocks.com by following me on Twitter.

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What:

Today I sold my full position in GeoEye, Inc. (NASDAQ: GEOY), a provider of space-based and aerial imagery and geospatial information, at $20.75 per share.

The total amount in my portfolio was was for a 3/4 position out of a full position, accounting for about 25% of my portfolio.

Those that follow me on Twitter received this update today as I made the transaction.

By the time some of you read this post, I will have already exited the position because my price target that I outlined was breached, so I advise you to subscribe to my Twitter feed that can be sent to your phone via text message or email for any actionable alerts that I will first post there before writing about in these pages.

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What:

Today I covered my short position in Netflix (NASDAQ: NFLX) at $39.90 per share.

The total amount shorted was for a 1/2 position out of a full position, accounting for about 15% of my portfolio.

Those that follow me on Twitter received this update today as I made the transaction.

By the time some of you read this post, I will have already exited the position because my stop limit order was triggered, so I advise you to subscribe to my Twitter feed that can be sent to your phone via text message or email for any actionable alerts that I will first post there before writing about in these pages.

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AuthenTec (NASDAQ: AUTH), the world’s leading provider of fingerprint sensors and solutions to the PC, Wireless and Access Control markets, released their Q1/09 earnings and held their analyst conference call May 12th after the market closed.

As I wrote on my Twitter feed, 3 of the companies in the portfolio reported last week, and all things considered, AuthenTec was not the highest on my priority list by any means.

Sure, I guess that speaks to the status of the company, and I’m seriously considering shuttering the entire position as I’ll discuss below, but for now, it looks like with AuthenTec’s huge cash position (the stock currently trades at less than the $2.31 per share in cash on hand), as well as their intellectual property (IP) and client roster, a larger company can swoop in and buy AuthenTec for pennies on the dollar, and we would get an easy double from here with no sweat.

Results this time around came in ahead of expectations and it appears that things are bottoming out, and that AuthenTec’s cost cutting measures are paying off.

The questions is, will this be enough to see the company through to the other side, or will it at least be enough for them to take advantage of their upcoming products or be acquired by another semiconductor company?

What follows is a summary of AuthenTec’s earnings announcement, conference call highlights, and my take on the company’s latest quarter and results, and what you should do if you own the stock.

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Our favorite purveyor of adult fantasy, Rick’s Cabaret International (NASDAQ: RICK) reported results May 12th, and there appears to be good news on the horizon.

I am recommending immediate purchase of shares in Rick’s stock at or around $6-7 per share, and in fact I added to my position at $6.90 on May 13th.

Readers of my Twitter feed were able to take advantage of my real-time buy alert as well as a weak stock market to grab shares of Rick’s at a fantastic price, as the company’s results while not stellar, show marked improvement and portend greater things ahead.

As I wrote in my recent buy recommendation for Rick’s shares, I feel that the company has reached an inflection point

While the economy still shows signs of weakness, it appears that as a result of Rick’s best-in-breed status, rebranding efforts at underperforming clubs, as well as several marketing campaigns, the company is expanding market share and wisely spending now to reap the benefits later.

In this post I’ll be breaking down Rick’s full earnings release, as well as their analyst conference call, and round out my post with what you should do with Rick’s stock whether you do or don’t own it yet.

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GeoEye, Inc. (NASDAQ: GEOY), a provider of space-based and aerial imagery and geospatial information, hit us with some good news, and a whole host of bad news today.

With GeoEye’s only U.S. competitor DigitalGlobe (NYSE: DGI) going public later this week, lots of attention is being bestowed upon both companies as a true apples-to-apples comparison can now be made as it relates to their satellite fleets, valuations and prospects going forward.

The problem?

As those that follow me on Twitter know, today GeoEye hosted its fiscal 1st quarter earnings conference call, and there was a little nugget of information about halfway into the call that caught Wall Street and me by unexpected surprise: The company’s newest satellite, GeoEye-1 is experiencing some technical problems that GeoEye is currently evaluating and determining how it will affect the company’s prospects going forward.

As you can see by the stock price, investors sure didn’t wait around for a nice and tidy explanation, and now with more focus on this sector as a result of Jim Cramer highlighting DigitalGlobe on Mad Money, as well as increased attention by various news outlets, now is certainly not the time for GeoEye to be experiencing some technical difficulties.

What follows is a summary of GeoEye’s earnings announcement and conference call, and what you need to know if you own, or are thinking of owning the stock.

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What:

Today I initiated a short position on Netflix (NASDAQ: NFLX) at $39.60 per share.

The total amount shorted was for a 1/2 position out of a full position, accounting for about 15% of my portfolio.

Those that follow me on Twitter received this update today as I made the transaction.

By the time some of you read this post, I may have already exited the position if my stop limit order was triggered, so I advise you to subscribe to my Twitter feed that can be sent to your phone via text message or email for any actionable alerts that I will first post there before writing about in these pages.

I am instituting a stop limit order to curtail losses if I am wrong, at about a 7-10% loss, or around $42.50 - $43.50 and I advise you do the same.

If I am wrong and the stock pokes through its 50 day moving average on the upside (which will present resistance on the way up) then you need to take your losses and get out.

If however the stock nudges through that level on weak volume on an up day in the market, you might want to look at keeping or adding to your short position, with an even tighter stop.

There may very well be a slight bounce in the stock, but what we don’t want to see is a huge move to the upside breaking through resistance on high volume, which would render our short term trade null, at least temporarily, regardless of the longer term thesis.

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It’s been 3 weeks (April 19th) since I advocated selling and/or shorting a whole slew of restaurant stocks on the basis that the entire sector had climbed much too far too fast, and there were several names that were ripe for the picking.

Since that recommendation, my average pick is beating the market by 11% vs. shorting the Russell 2000, which is the benchmark I use because these stocks are all small caps.

I wanted to review the stocks that I talked about in that post as well as check in on their performance since that article vs. a few market indexes, as well as their earnings results since most of them have since reported earnings.

These include: Chiptole Mexican Grill (NYSE: CMG) (NYSE: CMG.B), Buffalo Wild Wings (NASDAQ: BWLD), BJ’s Restaurants (NASDAQ: BJRI), and Panera Bread Company (NASDAQ: PNRA).

–> Get updates and real-time stock trades you WON’T find on PeakStocks.com by following me on Twitter.

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