Sign Up NowThis Month's Tiny Gems - May 2010

Cardium Therapeutics Inc. (AMEX: CXM)
OpenTable, Inc. (NASDAQ: OPEN)
Vantage Drilling Company (AMEX: VTG)

 

 

 

Cardium Therapeutics Inc. (AMEX: CXM)

 

Cardium Therapeutics Inc. (AMEX: CXM) acquires and strategically develops new and innovative bio-medical product opportunities and businesses that have the potential to address significant unmet medical needs and definable pathways to commercialization, partnering and other opportunities for monetization. The company’s investment portfolio currently includes the Tissue Repair Company and Cardium Biologics.

 

Cardium Therapeutics’ business model aims to create multiple opportunities for success, avoiding reliance on any single technology platform or product type, while leveraging its skills in late-stage product development. The company’s long-term strategy is to pursue cost-effective acquisitions with strong value enhancement potential as product opportunities and businesses are advanced and valuations rise.

 

In March of this year, Cardium Therapeutics highlighted several major developments that recently took place. Among these highlights the following were included: completion of Tissue Repair Company's Matrix Phase 2b clinical trial of collagen-based products, application for Food and Drug Administration (FDA) 510(k) U.S. marketing clearance of ExcellagenXL™ and ExcellagenFX™, plans to develop a DNA-based orthobiologics product portfolio, and completion of two registered direct investments of Cardium's common stock by institutional investors.

 

For the fourth quarter ended December 31, 2009, the company reported net income of $9.3 million, or $0.17 per share, compared to a net loss of $5.1 million, or $(0.11) per share, for the same period in 2008. Last month, Dawson James initiated coverage on the stock with a “Buy” rating and price target of $1.50. As of right now, Dawson is the only firm covering the stock.

 

 

 

 

OpenTable, Inc. (NASDAQ: OPEN)

 

OpenTable, Inc. (NASDAQ: OPEN) provides real-time online restaurant reservations for diners and reservation and guest management solutions for restaurants. The company’s network delivers the convenience of online restaurant reservations to diners and the operational benefits of a computerized reservation book to restaurants. Since its inception in 1998, OpenTable has seated more than 130 million diners around the world.

 

OpenTable works with many distribution partners, including AOL CityGuide, Chicago Tribune's metromix.com, Citysearch.com, DiRoNA, Los Angeles Times' calendarlive.com, NYC & Company, Time Out New York, San Francisco Chronicle's sfgate.com, washingtonpost.com, and Yahoo! Inc. Currently, the company has more than 12,000 restaurant customers.

 

OpenTable will announce its first quarter financial results for the fiscal year 2010 on Tuesday, May 4 after the market closes. Management will be available to discuss the results on a conference call at 2:00 p.m. Pacific Daylight Time on that date. Investors can join the call by calling 1-877-303-6497 or tune in via live webcast at http://investors.opentable.com/events.cfm.

 

According to Yahoo Finance, 36.05% of the shares are held by insiders while institutions hold 50%. With seven analysts covering the stock, four analysts have given their “Strong Buy” recommendation, while the other three have rated the stock a “Hold.” Both revenues and earnings are expected to grow significantly, with revenues growing from $87.58 million to $108.43 million and earnings growing from $0.52 per share to $0.74.

 

 

 

Vantage Drilling Company (AMEX: VTG)

 

Vantage Drilling Company (AMEX: VTG), an offshore drilling contractor, provides drilling services internationally with a focus on deep water and other high-specification drilling solutions. The company has built one the most experienced and dynamic teams in the industry with an unsurpassed safety program, premier offshore drilling performance, and a track record of exceptional results.

 

The International Energy Agency (IEA) recently revised its figure for global oil demand upward, now forecasting that oil demand will reach an average of 86.60 million bpd this year, a new record high. As in-land oil fields are continually depleted and demand rises in emerging economies, oil producers will be forced to find new locations and methods to extract oil.

 

In most recent news, Vantage reported its financial results for the fourth quarter of 2009. Although the company reported a net loss of $4.3 million, or $0.02 a share, it was a dramatic improvement over the previous year’s report of a $43.5 million loss, or $0.57 a share. For the whole year, Vantage reported net income of $8.8 million, or $0.07 per share, as compared to a net loss of $47.4 million, or $0.78 per share, in 2008.

 

Analysts are very supportive of the company with three analysts rating the stock a “Buy” and two analysts rating it a “Strong Buy.” Average current estimates are that Vantage will generate revenues of approximately $222 million this year and $303 million in 2011. Earnings per share on the other hand vary greatly by opinion from -$0.06 to $0.20 for the current year and $0.14 to $0.34 next year.