Why Didn’t I Buy That? Friday, March 6, 2009

The market was mixed today, but our three “Why Didn’t I Buy That” stocks weren’t. They went up an average of 33.24%

#1. Bowne and Co. (BNE) +36.75%

#2. Brookdale Senior Living, Inc. (BKD) +32.94%

#3. ArcSight, Inc. (ARST) +30.03%

 

#1. Bowne and Co. (BNE – $1.60) www.bowne.com

Shares of BNE were up 36.75% on trading volume of 446K shares.  Bowne’s 52-week high was $17.23 reached on May 8 of last year.

Who Are They?

Bowne provides financial, marketing and business communications services to their clients worldwide.  They file regulatory and shareholder communications online and in print as well as create and distribute customized, one-to-one communications on-demand. They employ 3,200 people out of 60 worldwide offices and their CEO, David Shea, made 1.26M last year. 

Why’d They Go Up So Much Today?           

It’s a little unclear.  Most stocks on our daily list that experience significant one-day growth have a clear catalyst, either an earnings call or a buyout, their CEO saved a young child from drowning…something.  They also normally have 6-7 times the trading volume that day.  Bowne had no major news emerge today and the 446K shares traded is less than 2 times the stocks normal trading volume of 274K shares.

What About the Fundamentals?

-       Capitalization: $44M

-       P/E Ratio: N/A

-       Earnings: $0.28

-       Cash: $16.33M

-       Debt: $116.53M

-       Book Value: $8.54

-       Short %: 2.9%

-       Last 52 Week Performance: -91%

 

#2. Brookdale Senior Living, Inc. (BKD –  $3.39) www.brookdaleliving.com

Brookdale’s stock shot up 32.94% today on volume of 1.26M shares traded.  The stock’s 52 week high was $27.22 dollars reached on May 2 of last year.

 Who Are They?

 Don’t let grandma see you reading this.  You know what Brookdale does.  Brookdale makes middle aged Americans guilty about having to send their elderly parents to live with other elderly people who’s middle aged children have sent them to live in the same place.  They run Old Folks Homes..ok, I said it…does that make you happy now?  Their CEO, W.E. Sherrif, was the 4th highest paid executive in the company last year, pulling in $196K.  Executive VP/General Counsel Andrew Smith made $396K.

 

Why’d They Go Up So Much Today?

 This is the day of the non-catalyst.  There was no earth shattering news item on BKD today.  Sometimes that’s life. 

 

What About the Fundamentals?

-       Capitalization: $345M

-       P/E Ratio: N/A

-       Earnings: $-1.41

-       Cash: $55.88M

-       Debt: $2.47B

-       Book Value: $9.44

-       Short %: 5.2%

-       Last 52 Week Performance: -86.54%

 

#3 ArcSight, Inc. (ARST – $11.43) www.arcsight.com

ArcSight shares secured a top 3 spot on today’s list by jumping 30% on volume of 2.8M shares traded, 13 times more than their normal trading volume of 210K shares.  The company’s 52 week high was $13 reached on August 6 of last year.  ArcSight has been a bright spot in a blighted market with an increase n value of 39% over the past year.

Who Are They?

ArcSight provides compliance and data security solutions to businesses and governmental agencies.  They use phrases like “Enterprise Security”, “Compliance Automation”, “Log Management” and “Configuration Audit Provisioning” to let you know they don’t mess around when it comes to corporate privacy.  Their CEO, Tom Reilly, made $525K last year. 

Why Did They Go Up So Much Today?

ArcSight released third quarter earnings on Friday that were larger than analysts expectations.  Wall Street professionals expected the company to come in at earnings of 8 cents per share; however, they crushed that number with earnings of 21 cents per share prompting at least one analyst from Needham & Co. to raise his price target on the company from $11 to $13.

 What About the Fundamentals?

-       Capitalization: $360M

-       P/E Ratio: 233.27

-       Earnings: $0.05

-       Cash: $75.68M

-       Debt: $0

-       Book Value: $2.13

-       Short %: 1.4%

-       Last 52 Week Performance: 39.39%

 

AS ALWAYS: This is not, I repeat, NOT stock advice.  This is merely informative and indicative of the types of gains that are being made on a day-to-day basis in the market.  This is NOT an invitation to day trade, which I do not recommend for the average Joe or Joanna.